


Phantom of the Point

by Kirabaros



Series: Chronicles of Absolution Season 1 [2]
Category: Chronicles of Absolution, Supernatural
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-05 07:34:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 54,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14039319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirabaros/pseuds/Kirabaros
Summary: 1.02. There is something haunting the barracks at West Point Military Academy. Sam, Dean and Angela go in undercover and think that it is a simple salt and burn. Things get a little bit more complicated. Inspired by the 1972 TIMES article.





	1. Chapter 1

_West Point_ _Military Academy_ _, 1972_

It was cold but not freezing as the October winds rippled across the Hudson River and the cadets were used to it. The grounds of the Point were largely quiet even though there were over a thousand cadets on the grounds. The air whistled between the buildings making nothing out of the ordinary.

Cadet Private Stephen Johnson continued his assigned guard duties around the old familiar 47th Division Barracks. It had been his assigned barracks since his arrival at the point and he already felt at home. Being at the Point was the only thing he truly wanted after scrambling to be the best in his application and securing his nomination. He recalled with pride the day he received his acceptance letter. Just thinking about it kept him warm as he continued.

On one of his passes, he came across his fellow cadet and friend Hank Gilmore who was also serving guard duty. Though it was more likely the cadet was working off demerits given that Hank was one who liked to run escapades. He gave a slight salute to his friend and continued on his way through his appointed rounds. He had just come around the northern end of the barracks when he thought he heard something.

 Johnson turned around quickly to find that no one was around. Even though it was cold, the cadet felt the wind get even colder.  He took a breath and the breath of air clouded over. He looked around some more and finding nothing continued on. As he whirled around he spotted what looked like a cadet walking to one of the barracks entrances. He said, “Halt, there soldier.”

The strange cadet kept walking into the barracks. Johnson followed the cadet into the barracks where he lost sight of the cadet. He looked around until he heard a thump upstairs. He ran up the stairs to the second floor and did a cursory sweep.  He was halfway down the hall when he felt the temperature drop suddenly causing him to shiver. Hearing something, he whirled around and looked around. He then heard something in one of the rooms. He recognized it belonging to Cadets Kinnon and Hillstead. He slowly opened the door and walked in, trying not to disturb his fellow cadets.

They were sleeping in their bunks while Johnson looked around until he stepped in something that made a sickly squishy sound. Johnson paused and looked down. He pulled out his flashlight and flipped it on. The sight on the ground left him speechless as he tried to gasp for something to say as he flipped over the sheets to view his fellow cadets dead. Suddenly he whirled around and saw the strange cadet.

The cadet was dressed in an old uniform and it was in tatters. The cadet looked blankly ahead at Johnson. Johnson looked downward and saw a large gaping wound in the stomach cavity of the mysterious cadet. He had never seen anything like it before and he backed away and brought his guard rifle up. He then managed to say, “You’re coming with me.”

The strange cadet didn’t move or say anything except it stared at Johnson. It then said, “Why?”

Johnson frowned in confusion. Before he could say anything the cadet in front of him moved forward. The last thing that came out of Johnson’s mouth was a loud scream that woke up the entire barracks.

****

_West Point_ _Academy_ _, 2006_

Cadet David Barcalow trudged up the stairs exhausted from a rather impromptu drill from some of the upperclassmen. While officially all cadets followed the code that had been instilled in them since day one, that didn’t exclude the need for ‘special drills,’ and to Barcalow, that came in the form of being drilled in everything until every muscle was sore beyond belief. He bore it willingly since all he ever wanted was to be a soldier.

Today’s drill was fundamental principles of marching until Barcalow was sufficiently drilled and that wasn’t until dinner hour. He nearly missed it but found that he wasn’t all that hungry so he decided to head to his barracks and call an early night even though he should be studying. Knowing this he mentally groaned as he pushed open the door to the room that he shared with his roommate. His roommate Derringer was already at his desk bent over his books. Barcalow thought that he might as well get a few hours in. It’s not like Derringer was tired or anything like that. In most cases it was Derringer that created the special drills for him. Barcalow could have requested a change of barracks but he was no snitch and he bore it.

After properly putting away his gear, Barcalow pulled out his books and placed them on the desk. He asked, “Burning the midnight oil Derringer?”

Normally Derringer would respond telling him to fuck off or something else. When he didn’t respond, Barcalow thought that he was being in a charitable mood for once. After placing his books on the desk, he realized that he forgot something and got up to get it. Along the way he bumped into Derringer and hastily apologized. When his roommate didn’t move, Barcalow gave a slight push on the cadet’s shoulder and the body slumped over to the ground. Looking down, Barcalow saw blood staining the floor and looked at his roommate in horror.

Suddenly the room became cold. Barcalow saw his breath come out in a cloud of smoke and rubbed his shoulders as he backed towards the door. He had to inform the Cadet Captain. He turned and then came face to face with another cadet? It looked at him with dead eyes and hole in the stomach cavity. It advanced towards Barcalow and is said one word, “Why?” Barcalow then saw the cadet swoop at him and he closed his eyes.

The Cadet Captain opened the door to tell the two occupying the room that it was lights out. When he opened the door, he came in on one dead cadet and the other covered in the dead man’s blood with a frightened expression on his face. The captain looked at the frightened cadet and demanded what happened. All that came out of the cadet’s mouth was, “He wants it to stop. He wants to know why.”

The cadet captain called for the guard to escort the blood covered cadet to holding while he placed a call to his superiors. He nearly gagged at the sight of all the blood on the floor. Looking at the body, he noticed that the stomach cavity had a hole punched into it. He frowned trying to keep what was in his stomach in and walked towards the window, careful not to step in the blood. He peered out the window and saw a cadet looking up at him. The uniform was in tatters and immediately the cadet captain thought of the regulations that had been violated. He looked away for a moment when he heard something and when he looked back, he saw the cadet was gone.

The captain frowned and turned away. It was then he saw it on the walls. Written in blood was the one word: why? The captain felt fear like he never felt before as he read that word. Something was definitely going on. He yelped when the cadet in the tattered uniform appeared in front of him and then phased out. The captain blinked several times and stayed there until the authorities came to investigate the scene.

****

Colonel Ted Henderson walked towards the interview room assigned to the prisoner. As head of the security forces of West Point, he was called to question the cadet that had been found covered in the blood of his dead roommate. He studied the file of the cadet as he walked through. What he found surprised him and he wondered if something was out of place.

Cadet Barcalow was sitting at the table. For security purposes, his hands were handcuffed and were clasped together on top of the table. His mind was a myriad of thoughts racing together. He knew he didn’t kill his roommate but he was certain that they wouldn’t believe him if he told him that he saw… what did he see? He placed his head in his hands thinking that he career as a soldier would be over.

The door opened and Col. Henderson walked in. In his usual manner, he placed the file of Cadet Barcalow on the table as well as the preliminary of the crime scene. He used this tactic when he was interrogating prisoners and when he ran what he called POW 101. He eyed the cadet with an impassive look and observed his reactions.

The cadet was frightened and he had every right to be. He was being held on suspicion of murder. The superintendent wanted to keep CID out this but did give Col. Henderson the option of calling them in if he thought they needed it. The colonel continued to stare and finally broke the silence, “You do know why you are here Cadet Barcalow?”

Barcalow looked up at the colonel and replied, “Yes sir.”

Col. Henderson nodded as he flipped open the file. He then read, “Cadet David Barcalow, born June 1983, received appointment from the state of Maryland to West Point, top of his class and excellent record. So why kill your roommate?”

“I didn’t kill him sir. He was dead when I walked in.”

“Then explain how you were covered in his blood,” the colonel replied looking at the cadet with a stoic face.

“As I told the MPs, I was coming in from a practice drill. I entered my room and Cadet Derringer was at his desk. I cleaned up and brought out the books. I remember bumping him when I got up and he slumped over dead. I had never seen a dead body before sir. I was scared.”

“And what happened then?”

“You’re probably going to think that I am crazy,” Barcalow replied and lowered his head, “but the room got really cold. I could see my breath. I then turned around and there was a cadet standing in front of me. He was wearing a tattered uniform and when I looked down I saw…”           

Col. Henderson looked up from his notes as he listened. He became very interested. “What did you see cadet?”

“I—I saw a gaping hole in his stomach. He then said something and that’s all I remember before waking up covered in Derringer’s blood.” Barcalow looked at the colonel. He was sure that his story wasn’t believed by him. “I didn’t kill him sir!”

Col. Henderson just stared at the cadet not giving away anything. If the cadet was right, then that meant that something bad was going to happen at the Point. Unfortunately he couldn’t do anything about it since it could be deemed suspicious. But if he could call in specialists and claim they were CID… It was the best option. He closed the file and said, “Cadet you’re in a lot of trouble at this point. However if we find evidence to the contrary, then there is a good chance that you will be released.” He then got up.

“Sir, please. I didn’t do it.”

The colonel ignored the cadet as he left the interrogation room. He gave the order for the prisoner to be moved to the brig. As much as he knew what was going on, he had to follow protocol on this. He felt bad for the boy and was determined to right this if it were possible. He paused by a window and looked out. What he saw had him frown.

Peering out he saw what he was certain it was a cadet. Looking close he saw the uniform in tatters. Suddenly the cadet flickered before looking at him. Then it disappeared. Col Henderson frowned at what he saw. He knew now that this required more than what he could do. He nodded before turning back towards the exit. Walking down the hall, he fished out his cell phone and dialed a number. Once he got a voice on the end, he proceeded to lay out the case in the prearranged code they had worked out. The response had him nodding in approval. He said, “I can make sure she can get in. Just make sure that protocols are followed. Thanks.”

****

_Hamburg_ _, New York_

The diner was fairly quiet with the exception of the early birds grumbling through their breakfasts and morning coffee. Some were already starting the day’s gossip. It was hardly noticed by the two boys in the corner. One was studying a laptop and occasionally taking a sip of coffee. The other was digging in to a large pile of bacon, eggs, sausage and pancakes. A small plate of pancakes was nearby and appeared only half eaten. The one eating finished his plate and was looking at the short stack with a speculative eye. He asked, “You gonna finish that Sammy?”

Sam Winchester didn’t bother to look up from his laptop. He replied, “Knock yourself out, Dean.”

Dean dug into the remaining short stack, stuffing a large piece into his mouth. He looked over at his little brother staring at the laptop screen. Still chewing he asked, “Still searching or did you find a job?”

Sam didn’t bother to reply. He was studying the main page of a school that he had done a search for. He clicked on the contact list to find the person he was looking for, ignoring the information that was provided about the school. When the list of faculty came up, he scrolled up and down until a familiar name came up but not the one he was looking for. He took another sip of his coffee and opened another window to do some cross checking. He also had some other articles pulled up looking for demonic omens or any sign of a possible job.

Dean looked at his brother with a concerned look. Seeing that he was going to be ignored, Dean reached over and slapped the lid of the laptop shut.

“Dude, do you have to be such a jerk?” Sam gave his best bitch face towards his brother.

“Come on, Sam. You’ve been doing nothing but working off of that thing every spare moment. What is so important that you have to be surfing the Internet for anything but porn?”

Sam gave a disgusted look as he watched his brother speak while chewing his food. It quickly changed to one of annoyance and he tried to open the laptop only to have Dean push the lid back down. “It’s just research and I’m not finding much of anything at the moment.”

“Really?” Then as quick as a flash, Dean had the laptop in his hands and had it open. He clicked on the windows that had been minimized to take a look pointedly ignoring the looks of annoyance on Sam’s face. When he found the page on the school he gave an ‘are you kidding’ look at Sam. Out loud he said, “You’re unbelievable. You’re still thinking about her?”

Sam gave a shrug. He had been thinking of her quite a bit. He didn’t tell Dean that occasionally he had the dream of her fighting and dying alone but it wasn’t always against vampires. Sometimes it was other things. It was bad enough with the visions. He didn’t need to worry his brother about this. He came up with what could be considered the most lame excuse ever, “It’s been nearly two months since… then.”

Dean knew his baby brother like he did the back of his hand. He could tell when Sam was lying to him or keeping something from him. He handed back the laptop stifling the urge to throw it at his brother. Seeing his brother’s expression, he relented and replied, “Look Sammy, she’s probably on a case and doesn’t need our help. Or she’s probably doing some R&R.”

Sam took back the laptop and put it in his bag. Dean was probably right and she didn’t need help but he did make the offer that he was there to talk if she wanted. In fact his brother said the same thing the girl at the school said when he called her the other night when Dean was making a snack run…

_“Sam, this is a surprise. How did you know to reach me at this number?”_

_“I checked the website of the school.” Sam was scrolling down the page of the Roslyn Academy. He had looked up Akira’s name and had come up with a dozen hits but only one referred to her current job._

_“Figures,” then a slight laugh before the voice asked, “So what can I do for you?”_

_“Have you heard from…” Sam wasn’t sure how to finish his inquiry without sounding like a fool._

_The voice became sympathetic but only slightly, “She took off after dropping me off. Have you tried her number?”_

_“I did but I got her voicemail. She hasn’t returned my call.”_

_There was a slight pause and Sam could swear that the voice was laughing at him. It then asked, “Did you have a dream?”_

_“Maybe.”_

_“I understand. Sam, just give it time. She could have found another case. Most of the work she does is not sanctioned by the order. Sometimes she will be gone for weeks. Then again she might be on_ that _mission.”_

_“What?”_

_The voice then replied, not answering his question, “Give her time. She’ll probably give a call. Be patient.” The line then hung up._

Sam studied his coffee, aware that his brother was waiting for his answer. He was sure that she might need help even though it was a dream but it could be nothing. However he knew she did open up with him more readily than she did with Dean so he was hoping that she might call. He might as well follow her friend’s advice and wait for her to respond. He replied, “You’re probably right Dean.”

“But…”

“Well,” Sam paused and looked upward for a moment trying to figure out what to say. He then replied, “I just can’t help but think that maybe she needs us on a case.”

Dean looked at Sam with an intense look of scrutiny. He glanced around to make sure no one was showing any interest in them. He then whispered, “Another one of your visions?”

“Dean, you know my visions usually involve the other psychics and the yellow eyed demon.” Sam looked down at his cup of coffee. He knew that he had probably just sunk his excuse for even bothering with his search. He waited to hear one of Dean’s lectures.

Dean finished chewing the last piece of pancake as he watched Sam toy with his coffee. He smiled like the cat that caught the canary. “You sly dog. That’s my boy though considering what she is…”

“Mind out of the gutter,” Sam replied annoyed at the whole thing. Yet it was a relief that he wasn’t being made to say what was truly on his mind. “I just wanted to see if she’s doing okay. That’s all.”

“So you say Sammy,” Dean was grinning while he fished out the money for the two meals that he just finished. He followed Sam who was already walking out the door with annoyed look on his face. As much as he was upset with Sam for keeping secrets, he couldn’t help but have fun at the fact that Sam was actually showing interest in a girl. And she was one of the first since his girlfriend Jessica died nearly a year ago.

As he was making his way out, he bumped into a guy who was coming into the diner. He gave an apology and continued to head out of the diner. He was unaware that the man was watching him through liquid black eyes. Dean met Sam at the Impala where Sam was leaning against the car with an annoyed expression on his face. Dean said, “Come on Sam.”

Sam said nothing but got inside the Impala. He really wasn’t in the mood to be teased about his sex life. He looked at the kachina sitting on the dash. It was another reminder of that job. Looking at it he gave a slight grin at the memory of the kachina latching itself onto Dean’s collar. It wasn’t moving now having been given the command to revert back to its original state but looking at it now, Sam swore it looked like it was giving a reassuring gesture. He was contemplating on using the activation word just to set loose a prank on Dean as the familiar creak of the door of the Impala sounded.

Dean had an annoyed look when he got inside the car. He said, “Sam I was just messing with you but come on she did have her eye on you.”

“She just told me more about herself to me than you. I just wanted to see if she was okay.” Sam then looked forward. “You’re probably right and if she does need us she’ll call. Besides I might have found a job a possible haunting at city hall. Some mysterious deaths have occurred but the details are inconclusive.”

Dean recognized the change of pace as a means of tabling the issue for now. In other words, he could pick it up later. He replied, “Alright so we hit city hall take a few readings and see if we have something.”

Sam was going to say something when he felt the vibration of his cell phone. He pulled it out of his jacket pocket and flipped it open. He frowned when he realized he had just received an email and the address was unknown.

Dean had started up the engine when the call came. He glanced over at his brother looking at his phone. He couldn’t resist, “Your girlfriend calling?”

Sam was frowning as he stared at the address, debating on whether or not to open it. He replied, “No. I got an email but from who?”

“Well might as well open it.”

Sam was in the same mind as he clicked to open the email. The message popped open and he read it out loud, “A Revolution of the poor with enemy troops numbering 544. A fort the “Mad” general won was a British garrison. Meet at this small, happy hive, this town founded in 1865.”

Dean frowned and asked, “A mysterious email in a riddle? Do we have a crazy person stalking us?”

Sam was frowning at the email. He then scrolled to the bottom. The sender left the last line, “Sent by a person who jumped into a previous fray and the name begins with the letter ‘A’.” _Could it be?”_


	2. Chapter 2

“I don’t know Sam. I mean all you gave her was your phone number. How could she have gotten your email?”

It was nearly an hour later and the Winchesters were back at their motel room. After receiving the mysterious email, Dean headed back trying hard not to break any speed laws. Once inside the privacy of their room came the debate or rather argument over the sender and whether or not the message was legit. Sam thought it really was her and actually asking for help on a case. Dean of course was being the more cautious and ranting that it was a message sent to mess with them. He said, “This is very convenient Sam.”

Sam listened to his brother rant on about it being a coincidence while he sat on the bed. He studied the email on his phone all the way through. He was sure it was sent by her but he had to admit that he was puzzled as well. If it was her, how would she know his email? He replied, “I admit that I don’t know how she got my email,” then seeing the look on his brother’s face, “Assuming that she did, how could it hurt to check it out?”

“Well Sam because we don’t know who sent it!”

Sam sighed. He tried again, “Dean… just give the benefit of a doubt here. It’s addressed to both of us and the clue of the sender indicates someone we’ve met before and the name begins with A. I know only two that have names beginning with the letter A. One is a teacher at a private school, that’s Akira. The other is Angela and she’s on the road.”

Dean listened with pursed lips. He then said, “Alright. Say if it were one of them, or rather that Angela chick, where is this place we are supposed to meet?”

Sam was looking at the email. He read it silently to himself a few times. What drew his attention was the word ‘mad’ in quotations. The word ‘revolution’ was capitalized as well. He was aware that Dean was growing impatient but he needed to think. He read it again one more time and then he smiled. “I think I have it.”

“Okay then where is this wild goose chase taking us?”

“Stony Point, New York.”

“And how did you come to that conclusion, College Boy?”

Sam let the name calling pass. He knew that Dean was upset over the whole thing. It was true that the email could be a false lead. He had a feeling though that this was legit. He handed the cell phone over so Dean could read it. Then he explained, “The word Revolution is capitalized meaning that it refers to a war. The word mad is in quotations and refers to a general. General ‘Mad’ Wayne led over a thousand troops against the garrison at Stony Point. In 1865 the town at Stony Point was built.”

Dean read the email as Sam explained his conclusions. He then looked at his brother with wide eyes. “You really are a college geek.”

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother. Dean was pretty smart too, he just more often thought with his other brain. He replied, “Didn’t you learn anything in American History?”

“A Bill on Capitol Hill,” Dean replied with a shrug.

Sam gave a slight shake of his head, “Dude, can you remember anything besides School House Rock?”

“Hey you’re the college boy. So now we have a place, I assume we’re going?” Dean tossed back Sam’s phone.

Sam caught his phone and gave a slight shrug. “If you want to Dean. I said my piece and you know what I think.”

Dean turned away to think. His instincts said that they should ignore it but there was a small part that told him that Sammy was not being led astray by a demon or something. Granted he wasn’t overly fond of that Angela chick, he had to admit that she was good at her job and in a pinch she protected Sam from the worst from that case. Besides, his brother had been moping about thinking about her and he really disliked seeing the bitch face. In a gruff voice he said, “Alright, we’ll go. I hate leaving a possible case but…” Dean then gave a smile, “She does have a great car.”

“Always with the car orgasm,” Sam replied in a tolerant tone.

“Shut up… bitch.”

“Jerk.”

****

 The drive towards Stony Point was made within reasonable time, even with Dean pushing the speeding limits. Sam wisely said nothing and bore with Dean’s choice of music without complaint. When they entered the town limits, Dean broke the silence, “Alright Sam. Does that message give any idea of where to meet the sender?”

Sam checked the email one more time to make sure he didn’t miss anything. Then and idea came to him. He hit the reply button and said, “No but I’m sending a reply. We may get a hit.”

“Oh great so we come here and we’re supposed to guess where our mystery contact is supposed to meet us? That’s just perfect!” Dean pulled the Impala over and sat like a petulant child. He glanced at the kachina and thought that it was laughing at him. He scowled at it.

Sam sighed as he watched Dean go through one of his moods. When his brother looked at the kachina on the dash, he couldn’t help but laugh. Then a beep from his cell phone sounded. He flipped it open to see a reply to his email. “Dean I got a reply.”

“Great.”

Sam glared at his brother as he opened the email. What he saw had him frowning in puzzlement. “Huh that’s strange.”

“What now?”

“It’s the reply.”

“What? Does it ask you to get out of the car, walk twenty paces and do the hokey pokey?” Dean looked over at Sam with a look that clearly said he wasn’t in the mood for games.

“Nothing like that.”

“Well then what does it say?”

Sam still had the puzzled look on his face as he read the email, “Look behind you.”

Dean frowned himself and said, “What?”

“Look behind you.”

Dean lost his temper and said, “Great. This person is just jerking us around!”

“Calm down Dean before you blow a head gasket and you’re worthless if that happens.”

Sam and Dean turned to look towards the back of the Impala, towards the source of the voice. Sitting in the back seat, looking comfortable was none other than Angela. She was wearing sunglasses but it was easy to tell that she was smiling and possibly laughing internally. She looked first at Sam and then Dean and the looks on their faces. She then said, “You know I was wondering if you two were going to show up. I admit that the riddles were a bit heavy but… you never know.” She shrugged her shoulders in a nonchalant manner.

“So you did send the email?” Sam was looking at Angela with an incredulous look. “How did you get it?”

Angela crossed her arms in front of her and leaned back against the seat. “I may be good at hunting things but it doesn’t mean that I don’t have a brain. I did some checking and a bit of hacking. Besides email was safer than a phone call.” She looked over at Dean who was starting to give her the death look. She moved her head to the side as if confused and then said, “You should try not to be so grumpy all the time Dean. It really does make others miserable.”

Dean continued to glare and replied, “You have a hell of a nerve pulling this crap. First a riddle and now you pull a Houdini act into the back seat of my car.”

Angela sighed and ran a hand through her shoulder length hair. “Look maybe it was a piece of crap but I wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t necessary and believe me it was necessary.” When Dean looked like he was going to say something, she said, “I have a job for you. Well, the three of us and I was asked that when I contacted you that I would use security precautions.”

Sam had been following the whole conversation still surprised that Angela just popped in without them noticing. He picked up on the fact that Angela found them a job. Before Dean could say anything, he asked, “What kind of job requires you to be secretive?”

“Think Homeland Security type secrecy.”

****

“Wait. You’re telling me that you think there is a spirit or something at West Point?”

Angela paced the length of the motel room that they were meeting in with her arms crossed. She listened to Dean’s inquisition with patience. She didn’t blame him and she always knew he was the more wary of the two brothers. After the initial blow up, she calmly suggested that they find some place where she could give the details without being overheard. Now she had just explained that there were reports about deaths at West Point and that it sounded like a spirit haunting the place. Dean of course thought she was nuts and he was still angry about earlier. She spoke calmly, “I don’t think. The information was given to me by a friend who works for Army CID and he got a call from the head of security at the Point. He called me because he knows what I do and asked for my help.”

“Okay so why call us?” Dean looked up at Angela from the table he was sitting at. He had calmed down considerably since the incident in the car and he figured it was due in part to Angela talking in calm tones. Plus he was itching to get onto another job.

Angela looked at Dean as if to gauge his mood. She looked briefly at Sam who wisely was letting the sparks fly between her and Dean. Better he let his rage out on her. Then his mind would be on the job. She then said, “I could go in by myself but here’s the thing: CID usually sends their agents out in pairs or more. Besides it is not uncommon to send in a few ‘specialists.’”

“And that’s where we come in?” Sam asked. He didn’t believe it at first either that the military could be having a ghost problem. In most cases at the sites of battlefields, it wasn’t uncommon for spirits to appear where they died. There were actually quite a few stories about sightings.

“That pretty much sums it up.” Angela stopped pacing. She was asking them, not forcing them so that meant she could look for partners elsewhere except those were few and far between. She then said, “So, are you guys in?”

Sam looked over at his brother who was still somewhat seething but he had calmed down considerably since then. He gave a look to ask if they should take the job. Dean looked back at his brother before standing up and walking right up to Angela and asked, “Okay. Say we take the job. How are you going to get us in? Another Houdini act?”

Angela grinned and replied, “It’s much simpler than that.” She walked over to the small bag that she had brought in and opened it up. She pulled out three IDs and flipped them open on the table, beckoning the brothers to come and take a look. “These are CID badges, very difficult to fake.”

Dean picked up the one that had his face on it. Peering at it he looked up the name and found that it wasn’t that bad but he had to ask, “Dean Smith?” He then noticed the one with Sam’s name on it, “Sam Wesson?”

“Fit of humor,” Angela replied. “Certainly better than some of the names you two have used.” She gave a smirk that was combined with a chuckle. “Besides you needed names that didn’t draw too much attention.”

“I’ll say,” Dean replied flipping his shut and flapping it about. “So how real are these?”

“Very real. Real badges. Real IDs. You don’t mess around when it comes to the military,” Angela replied placing her hands on the table. “They need to be real because there is a chance that if we’re caught, the charges will be a long walk into a cell block. That’s the added risk. You guys can still back out if you want.”

Sam looked at the ID that would be his, testing the weight of the badge. Angela was right on that account. If they were caught, it would only add to the trouble that Dean was already in because of the shape shifter. She was asking them for help and even gave them the option to back out if they wanted. “If we refused, what would you do?”

Angela shrugged her shoulders and said, “Doesn’t matter. I’ll still go in.”

It wasn’t much of an answer for Sam but he got the hint that if pushed, she would go through it alone. “So either way the job gets done?”

“More or less and an innocent man is saved from being punished for a crime he didn’t commit. Besides if you’re worried about a possible job you left behind, I can tell you right now that those mysterious deaths were nothing but a couple of strange accidental deaths at Hamburg. I checked with an acquaintance who works the morgue. Still the choice is yours.”

Angela then turned to let the brothers think about her job offer. She walked towards the door of the room and stepped out and went to seek company with the Impala. She leaned against it and rubbed the hood fondly. Secretly she hoped that they would accept the job but a part of her didn’t want them to. From what her contact at CID told her, there was more than a bit of haunting going on. She had been tacking the more subtle signs of demonic activity and she came to the conclusion that Azazel was on the move again or rather a minion close to him. If that was the case, she could be delivering Sam Winchester on a silver platter to him and that would violate the oath she had made to the boys’ father. In her mind at least.

She leaned against the hood and stroked it marveling at the job well done at its restoration under Dean’s hand. Then there was the fact that eventually she was going to have to tell them that she knew their father since they were bound to come across a fellow hunter who knew someone, who knew someone, who knew her working on a job with John. Briefly she wondered what would happen if they knew she had been friends with their mother. _By God Almighty I’ve meddled too much. This could fuck things up big time._

Perhaps she shouldn’t have sent that email to Sam. After all she thought it best not to call even though she had his number and he had hers. Heck he left her a couple of messages asking her how she was doing. She didn’t answer thinking she was doing her job. She frowned at herself. She had spent too many years facing darkness alone that even when she worked with partners, they couldn’t get away fast enough when the job was over. The Suarez job though was different. She was so deep into thought that she didn’t see Sam come out to look for her. When he was standing beside her and tapped her shoulder, the reaction was instinctual as she grabbed his wrist. Normally, she would have twisted or squeezed but she did neither. Seeing that it was Sam, she let go and took a step back. “Sorry.”

Sam rubbed his wrist but realized that she hadn’t even done anything except grab it. He felt foolish rubbing it as if it ached and stammered, “It’s nothing.”

Angela narrowed her eyes slightly as if to search for the truth. Satisfied, she relaxed but didn’t move closer, only edged backwards just a little bit. She then said, “It’s a defense mechanism when someone tries to sneak upon me.” She took a breath and then said, “So what’s the plan?”

Sam frowned slightly as he watched her subtle backward steps. He did think that maybe he shouldn’t have taken her by surprise but then how was he supposed to get her attention? Poke her with a stick? He got the feeling that there was more to it and at the moment she was not comfortable sharing so he would let it drop for now. He answered her, “We’ll take the job.”

Angela gave a slight nod. They were heading to the Point and possibly danger but hey at least she was around. She said, “Okay. So I take it Dean is accepting of his cover?”

Sam gave a reassuring smile in an attempt to draw her out, “Yeah. He won’t admit it but he likes the fact that you came up with the names.”

Angela watched the smile form on the younger Winchester’s face. He was a persistent one in being friendly and if she wanted to admit it, she appreciated that. Few actually would dare bother to try and draw her out. She gave a smile of her own, “Heh. Morrie, my contact in CID thought I should have gone with Morita and Derringer. It was more of a contest… like the alphabet insult game.”

Sam gave a chuckle, “I’m glad you picked the names.”

“Just be grateful one doesn’t say bikini inspector,” Angela replied with a grin before turning to head back into the room.

It was later in a small diner over a cheeseburger and two sandwiches that Angela laid out the details of what the plan was. After agreeing to the job, Angela offered to buy a meal. She knew she had Dean almost won since he didn’t have to dish out for food. She sweetened the pot by saying she knew which place had the best pie around and Dean was agreeable. He had the straightest face when he told Sam that he liked her and it made her laugh.

Now she was sitting back to avoid getting sprayed by wayward food particles of the species known as pie while laying out the basic rules regarding the academy. “The head of security is Col Ted Henderson and he is a buddy of Morrie’s so he does know a bit about the supernatural. While he knows about such things, he runs a tight ship and the superintendent does have an impact on the going on at the Point.”

“Will this Col Henderson give us access to just about anywhere?” Dean was chewing his piece of pie and staring at Angela.

“He’ll give us access to just about anywhere as long as we can justify it.” Angela reached for the glass of iced tea she had ordered. One of her guilty pleasures was a love of tea. This one was her fifth glass and it was a tub as Dean put it. “Thing is there are a few things we need to pick up. For one thing is you need better suits and a couple of props.”

Dean paused and made a funny face while the bite of pie was rolling around his mouth. He looked at Angela who was balancing her tub of tea on her knee that was crossed over her other leg. “What’s wrong with the suits we have?”

“Cheap.”

Angela said it with a straight face that Sam couldn’t help but chuckle. He noticed that Dean would have choked if he didn’t swallow from the laugh that threatened. He then said, “So I am guessing that we are going for a more uniform look?”

“I thought CID had soldiers,” Dean asked confused.

“They do but we’ll be classified as special agents. Remember how much fun that is,” Angela replied with a smirk. She took a drink of tea. “It’s a better cover than waltzing in as a soldier… though I was considering giving Sam a cover as a cadet.”

“What?” Sam looked over at Angela aware that Dean looked like the cat that caught the canary.

“You mean you considered having Sasquatch here enlist? Isn’t his height against regulations?”

Sam gave an annoyed look at Angela who stared back at him as if daring him to do something. She then said, “It was conceivable. Entrance requirements for cadets are that they must be 18-23 and they must have an outstanding academic record as well as an appointment from a congressman. The appointment would have been easy to obtain and well Sam’s 23 and from my understanding full ride to Stanford. It was just a possibility of talking to the cadets in the barracks where it happened.”

“Yeah well Sammy’s not good at taking orders.”

“Dean.” Sam glared at his brother.

“I’m telling you Sam. You would’ve made an awful soldier.”

Angela watched the exchange and saw that she shouldn’t have mentioned it. She intervened, “Okay you two. Sorry to have brought it up but I was laying out the options when I came up with the plan. So just drop it.”

“Fine.” Dean finished his slice of pie. This would be an interesting job and the best part was that they had a cover and some help from people in authority. It shouldn’t be too much of a problem. “So we leave today?”

“In the morning. Suits first,” Angela replied finishing the last of her tea. She then stood up and fished in her pocket for her wallet and pulled out a few bills. She laid them on the table and said, “I’ll pick them up now. See you in the morning.” She then walked out of the diner to begin the walk back to the motel. True she had ridden in the Impala over but she needed a walk.

As she was walking down the road, she felt her senses become annoyed by a prickly feeling. She had that feeling numerous times before. More often it was inkling to what the humans were doing to threaten each other. It was how she managed to save a few people from becoming victims. However, it started to become tense and more familiar. She was being watched. She stopped completely to look around.

The street was deserted, just like how they liked it. Angela stood and looked around, reaching out to see where the bastard would pop out. Suddenly a familiar voice sounded from behind, “Hello Angie. Long time no see.”

Angela gritted her teeth and replied, “Not long enough Lenya.”

Lenya tsked as she walked to be in front of Angela. “Now is that any way to greet an old friend. Remember all the fun we had when Daddy had you on the rack?”

Angela felt her eye twitch as the memory came unbidden. She replied, “Fun for you demon bitch.”

“Still the same as ever.” Lenya then looked over Angela speculatively. She gave a seductive smile relishing at the inward squirming Angela was doing. “And still doing the same thing. You know Daddy misses you. You were his little pet.”

“Let the bastard stay in the pit,” Angela retorted. Her hand went to the small knife that she carried. “And I suggest you leave too or I’ll…”

“Gut me? Awww Angie. You wouldn’t hurt your favorite sister now?” Lenya pouted like a little girl. She then got a mischievous smiled. “Are you going to be mean and not share your pets?” She then reached up and played with one of Angela’s locks.

Angela bristled and pulled her head away. She then said, “You stay away from them. If I catch you near them you will regret it and you can tell your Daddy and Azazel that.”

Lenya then got hostile and her voice took a deep overtone, “You aren’t in a position to make threats bitch. You can try and protect them but in the end, Sam Winchester will be ours.” She was then gone leaving Angela on the empty street.


	3. Chapter 3

“Hey Angie, you in the mood for AC/DC?” Dean glanced in the rear view mirror at Angela as they drove down the highway.

“Whatever you want. Driver picks the music, passenger shuts their pie hole,” Angela replied while she stared out the window deep in thought. She let the nickname Dean gave her pass since he would use it no matter what she said. She couldn’t shake the fact that Lenya had found her and she cursed the demon bitch for bringing up _those_ memories.

Dean didn’t appear to notice her mood as he grinned at Sam and said, “Oh yeah she knows the score.” He then put in AC/DC in the tape deck and proceeded to beat out the rhythm on the steering wheel while singing.

Sam just gave a slight shake of his head in amused tolerance. He remembered back to when Metallica was playing and Angela and Dean were singing. He then said, “Dude try not to embarrass yourself.”

Dean apparently remembered the last time and replied, “Shut up, Sam.”

Sam just grinned. He then happened to glance behind him slightly and noticed Angela just sitting there. She was not deep in thought. Something was bothering her greatly and he wondered if it had anything to do with the job they were heading to. He gave a slight smile when she started humming to the song that was playing as he turned back to face forward.

They arrived late in the day at the Point. Dean asked, “So what now?”

“Head to the village. There’s a hotel. Should be fairly empty since it’s in the middle of the year,” Angela replied from the back as she gave a stretch.

Dean gave a slight shrug and followed Angela’s directions. “You’ve been here before?”

“Long time ago.” A slight pause followed and then Angela added, “Last time I was here, it was probably 1846.” She gave a short yawn and looked at the expression the brothers were giving her. It was the first hint she had ever given of her age to them and their faces wanted to make her laugh. Dean had pulled over to look at her and Sam had turned around as well. She sat back as if it were no big deal and said, “Yes. I’ve seen quite a bit.”

“Vampire genes?” It was Dean that asked the question.

“Yes. Part and parcel of the vamp package.”

Dean shrugged his shoulders. “Alright then. Should be a slice of heaven.”

****

Angela looked around the main grounds of the Point. The last time she was here, she had been a guest of the family whose son had just graduated. Not much had changed except for the signs of modernization but it had been done well. Tradition hung over this place and made it hard to think that something could haunt this place. She straightened up as she climbed out of the Impala, followed by Sam and Dean in their matching suits and ties. She subtly passed the IDs to them and pulled out the cases holding the EMF and other tools and handed the cases to them. “Well let’s go.”

he led the way to the main building where security was housed. The doorman questioned her and she flashed her badge, “Special Agent Serves, CID. We have an appointment with Col Henderson.”

Col Ted Henderson overheard his name being called from his office where he was going over the paperwork. He leaned over to look out the door to try and see who it was. He could hear the front desk being difficult telling the visitor that the colonel wasn’t expecting any visitors. Henderson could see one of them as she looked straight at the front desk officer as she stared at him with a raised brow. The two with her stood behind her holding silver cases. He guessed that they must be the ‘agents’ that his friend at CID sent. He got up from his desk and went to try to stop a potential verbal fight.

“Now listen, Private,” Angela was saying, “We received a call from the colonel.”

“I’m sorry Agent Serves but I have no record…”

“It’s all right private. I forgot to put it on,” Col Henderson entered. He then looked at the agents and beckoned them to follow, “Come on in.”

Once inside his office with the door firmly closed, Henderson gave a sigh of relief and said, “I’m glad that you’ve come. Things have been crazy around here though the superintendent has been trying to keep a lid on it. Never thought I’d see a ghost haunting this place.”

“So you know something is going on?” Sam asked the question after looking at his brother.

“Saw the damn thing myself after the murder. Since then we’ve had incidents with cadets having accidents, some of them ending up dead and all with a huge hole in their stomachs.” Henderson walked to sit back down at his desk and beckoned his visitors to sit. He then looked at the girl and asked, “So you’re in charge Special Agent Serves?”

Angela nodded and replied, “Indeed.”

“And these two?”

“My team… specialists in this line of work.”

“More the merrier,” Henderson replied trying not to sound sarcastic. Even though he knew that there were things that went bump in the night it didn’t mean he had to acknowledge them but this was serious. The safety of the cadets was his responsibility. “I’ll grant you access to the barracks and anywhere you need to go provided it is relevant to the case.”

“Could we also speak to the prisoner?” Sam asked.

Henderson gave a slight glare at Sam before replying, “That can be arranged though I don’t know what good that’ll do.”

“You’d be surprised in our line of work,” Angela replied. She knew Henderson’s type well. He was the kind that preferred to turn a blind eye even after seeing it. “We’ll be as discreet as possible Colonel. Once we finish, we’ll leave and that’ll be the end of it.”

Henderson studied the trio in front of him. Morrie told him that the girl was to be trusted in her judgment. So far she was willing to follow protocol and that was all he was going to demand of them. He then opened a drawer and pulled out three visitor badges and handed them to her, “You must wear these at all times while here at the point. They’ll allow you access to most places along with your badges.”

“Thank you Colonel,” Angela replied accepting the badges.

“Just remember one thing: there is a strict sense of order here. Everything has its place, rank and file; a chain of command. Respect that while you are here, especially you have questions for anyone.” Henderson then pulled out the file regarding the case and handed to Sam who took it without question. “There’s the file on the murder as well as the other incidents. If you have any questions, or need anything fill out the proper request forms.”

Henderson then stood up and ushered the trio out. He then said in a low voice, “I don’t care how you get rid of it, just do. We don’t need any more problems.”

Angela glanced at the colonel before exiting and replied, “I’m glad that West Point is cooperating with CID. We’ll do our best.” She then gave a slight push on Dean’s back since he was closer to indicate to move.

Once then were outside the colonel’s office, she led the way towards the holding area after giving a slight eye roll. Dean waited until they were a fair distance away before asking, “So he knows about this? Why isn’t he doing something about it? Why us?”

Angela kept walking forward as she explained, “It’s because he prefers to think that everything is normal even though he has seen it. Willful ignorance. He’s a career soldier Dean. There’s no room for the supernatural in that life.”

“Oh that makes sense,” Dean replied sarcastically.

“Dean at least we have access to where we need to go,” Sam pointed out. “Compared to the other cases we’ve had, this is as easy as it’s going to come.”

“Alright I get it,” Dean replied. “So what next?”

“We can question the cadet who saw it. We can also inspect the barracks,” Angela replied as she paused in a virtually empty hall. “I can question the cadet in holding and you two can inspect the scene.” She raised her brow to see if they wanted to go along with it. Seeing that they weren’t going to say anything, she fished out the campus map she had swiped from the entrance and gave it to Dean. “Meet you at the car,” she said and headed towards holding.

Sam glanced at his brother. It was more of a silent understanding between them and then Sam hurried to catch up with Angela while Dean went to inspect the barracks. If Angela was surprised at one of brothers accompanying her, she didn’t show it. She glanced at Sam and then said, “I would have thought you and Dean would have questioned the cadet.”

“You’re the boss on this case, Angela,” Sam replied.

“And you and Dean can give your input. I may have revealed that I am older than I look, but that doesn’t mean that I know everything.” Angela opened the door to the main desk in holding and walked in. “I’ve learned that a good team uses the skills of everyone in it.” She walked up to the officer at the desk and flashed her badge stating that they were there to question the prisoner. She was shown a sign in sheet and she signed it without batting an eye and passed it over to Sam.

Sam signed the sheet and showed his badge and followed Angela in as they were showed into an interrogation room. He followed Angela’s lead as they waited for the prisoner to be brought in. Briefly he wondered if Dean found anything.

****

Dean never had it so easy to gain access to a scene of a sighting. He just flashed his badge to the guard and he was let in. He walked in and climbed the stairs while being followed by the curious guard. The guard asked, “So CID sent you guys in to investigate? Seems pretty straightforward to me.”

Dean played off of it, “You’d be surprised what we find even in the most obvious.” He glanced around looking for signs. He made it to the door that had been clearly marked. “So this is where the cadet was found?”

The guard nodded as he opened the door to give Dean access to the room. “Cadet Barcalow was found covered in Cadet Derringer’s blood.”

Dean nodded and set the silver case down feeling like he was stuck on one of those procedural cop shows. He opened it and pulled out the EMF and turned it on. He moved about the room checking the readings. The most he got in the readings was where the dried puddle of blood was. He ignored the questioning look of the guard as he went over the whole room. He then asked, “What about the other accidents?”

The guard showed him the other areas of the barracks and Dean ran the EMF. The readings were pretty high indicating that there was some activity. He was near the stairs when he spotted something on the ground. Kneeling he pulled out the penlight he kept in his pocket and clicked it on to get a better look. Seeing it, he picked it up and looked at it. It looked like a button of some sort. Looking closely at it, Dean could make out a symbol and one he clearly recognized. “What the hell?”

“Find something?”

Dean snapped out of it long enough to hide palm the button into a plastic bag. He tried to bluff his way out, “Just some evidence for the case. Nothing you need to worry about.” He looked around trying to find something to ask the guard, “So did you know the cadets that have been having these accidents?”

“Not all of them. Some were in the class ahead of me and some below me. Barcalow and Derringer were in my class,” the guard replied shrugging his shoulders. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“CID business. Nothing you need to worry about,” Dean replied giving a polite grin. He took the opportunity to pocket the bag with the button in his jacket. He walked back to where he left the case and put the EMF back in. He made sure the guard didn’t see the usual gear like the salt rounds and a sawed off shotgun. He hoped Angela and Sam had luck with the cadet.

Dean exited the barracks and started down the path back towards the car. He didn’t know that he was being watched by someone. He was walking past one of the buildings when he heard, “You think the deaths are connected?”

Dean whirled to find himself face to face with a female cadet. She was rather pretty with short light brown hair, creamy complexion and light blue eyes. Dean gave one of his more charming smiles and said, “It’s a theory but I can’t really disclose it.” He would have flirted with her but he remembered the warnings given by that colonel and Angela.  He turned to walk away.

“You know those cadets were known dicks with the exception of Barcalow.”

Dean stopped and turned to look at the cadet who stopped him. He looked at her with an inquisitive frown. “What did you say your name was again?”

****

Sam looked at the cadet sitting across from him and Angela. He asked, “Cadet Barcalow, what happened the night Cadet Derringer died?”

Angela studied the cadet as he lifted his head from his hands to answer the question. The poor boy looked like he saw a ghost as he said, “I already told Col Henderson and it’s in the damn file. I came in from drills and went up to my room. Derringer was sitting at his desk studying. I took a quick shower and went to go study. I bumped him when I was walking to my desk and he slumped over.”

“Anything else?”

“You wouldn’t believe me. The colonel didn’t believe me.” Barcalow buried his face in his hands. “No one does. They think I’m crazy.”

Sam looked at Angela with a silent question of what to do. Angela returned the look with a slight nod. Before the cadet had been brought in, they agreed that Sam would ask the questions while Angela would observe and write down notes. Sam got the message and replied, “We don’t. We want to know what happened that night. Tell us everything.”

Barcalow raised his head. He saw the reassuring smile from the male CID agent and the interested look the female was giving. Maybe he could trust these two. He took a gulp of air and replied, “Well, after Derringer fell to the floor, the room got cold. Really cold and I turned around and I saw this guy.”

“Was he a cadet?”

“I thought he was but the uniform was outdated.” Barcalow then went pale.

Sam noticed the change in the guy’s coloring. He recognized it as signs that the kid may have seen something that scared the crap out of him. He asked, “What did you see Barcalow?”

Barcalow started shaking visibly. He began to stutter, “I—I saw… I saw a large gaping hole in his stomach. And he… flickered…” Barcalow didn’t say anything else but leaned back and started rubbing his hand over his face. “How does a guy flicker?” His voice rose a little and was near shrill.

Angela recognized that the boy was going into a panic attack. She glanced over and noticed that the guards were going to come in. She stood up quickly and waved them off. She walked over to Barcalow and placed a hand on his shoulder. The effect was immediate as the boy started to calm down. She looked at him in the eye and said in a calm voice, “Cadet Barcalow. It is all right. Thank you for telling us this. We believe you. You are not crazy.”

Barcalow calmed down completely. “You b—believe me?”

Angela’s gaze never left the boy’s. “Yes. Now you need to be strong. We know you didn’t kill that cadet. Remember the code Cadet: Duty, Honor, Country. We will do what we can to get you out.” She then released the boy’s shoulder and broke eye contact. She went to pick up her notepad and said, “Thank you for your statement Cadet Barcalow. If you remember anything else, please call us.” She gave a slight tap to Sam’s leg to signal him to get up.

Sam didn’t appreciate the kick but he got up still trying to make sense of what he just saw. He shook hands with the cadet and thanked him and followed Angela out. Once they were completely outside of the building, he asked, “Okay what was that?”

“What was what?”

Sam gave an annoyed eye roll as he kept pace with Angela’s brisk walk. He replied, “That part in the interrogation where you just calmed down the guy just by touching him. I’ve seen you do a few things but that looked a bit like mind control.”

“It was.”

Sam grabbed Angela’s arm to stop her. He was aware that she could have done what she did at the motel in Stony Point but this time she didn’t. He looked at her face and saw that she was actually chewing her bottom lip as if something were bothering her, like she was nervous. He frowned slightly and asked, “Is something wrong, Angela?”

Angela knew she revealed more about herself in front of Sam than she had to anyone in a single sitting. First she revealed she was fairly old and second she revealed one of her talents and one she hated using because of the potential for abuse. Such things were sure fire ways of sending partners running away and that had happened before. It was why she worked alone and left before thanks were given to her. When Sam grabbed her arm, she thought that the rejection was going to come so she began chewing her lip. When Sam asked his question, she chewed her lip one last time before answering. She replied, “You know how in the Dracula movies they show how the vampire puts his victim under hypnosis?”

Sam didn’t quite understand where this was going but he was willing to follow along. He answered, “Yeah. How is that relevant?”

“It’s… actually true,” Angela replied and gave a slight nod, “Well for most. And what you just saw was it in action.” She then looked down and chewed her lip again. “Those that are born and most of my kind have the ability in various levels.”

“How strong is yours?”

“Strong enough to make you do something and you’re unable to control it.” Angela finally looked up at Sam. She looked at him as if to ask him what he thought of her.

Sam looked forward and past Angela and said, “Show me.”

Angela frowned, thinking that Sam went off the deep end. Her voice was a shrill whisper, “What?”

Sam looked down at her in the eye and repeated, “Show me.”

Angela saw that she was serious and her eyes widened and then narrowed. She pointed at him saying, “You’re crazy. I am not going to do it.”

“You didn’t have a problem doing it to that cadet in there.”

“He was panicking. I could hear it in his breathing. He would have started hyperventilating and possibly have gone violent. I couldn’t let him hurt himself.” Angela took a step back and crossed her arms.

“And that justified it?”

“All I did was send him calming thoughts. The boy thinks everyone thinks he’s crazy. All I did was calm him down by telling him that we did believe him. I just amplified it.” Angela took a deep breath. “I don’t abuse my powers Sam. I try to avoid using them.”

Sam couldn’t say anything at the moment and his mouth was slightly open trying to find something to say. He said the first thing that came to his mind, “Then why not tell me or Dean about your abilities.”

“Do you share everything regarding yours Sam? Like your visions? Like the fact that you dreamed of Jessica’s death before it happened?”

Sam jerked up and looked at Angela. “How do you know about that?”

 _Well I dug this hole. I might as well bury myself in it._ Angela sighed as she shuffled her feet. She debated internally how much she wanted to tell him. She would have to tell Dean eventually as well. She would bite the bullet then. She then looked at Sam in the eye and said, “The demon you’re chasing is the same one I’ve been chasing for years. When you’re on the trail, you hear things and we have… history.”

****

“So you’re telling me that you know about the other psychics?” Sam leaned against the fence near one of the drilling fields with his arms crossed. After Angela revealed she knew about the yellow-eyed demon, she suggested that they go to a more private area and she would answer any question as best as she could.

“Yes. How many, I don’t know for sure but I have lists.” Angela leaned against the fence her elbows resting on the upper bar. “I came across them when I followed the signs.”

Sam nodded not quite looking at her. He then asked, “So what is your history with the yellow eyed demon?”

“You sure you want to hear it? Once I tell you, I am still a fellow hunter or become the hunted,” Angela replied giving fair warning. She looked up at Sam.

Sam looked down at her puzzled, “What happened? Did you release him from hell?” It was meant as a joke.

“It was an accident.”

Sam looked at her in surprise. “You’re not kidding are you?”

“No. So you want me to finish?”

Sam thought about it for a moment. As much as he wanted to be angry at what she had been keeping, he knew that she would tell him. All he had to do was just ask. Right now she was asking him if he wanted to hear the whole thing. A part of him wanted to know what she knew about the yellow eyed demon and the psychics. He replied, “Tell me what you know.”


	4. Chapter 4

“So do you and your brother still want to work this case with me?”

It was an honest question. It was easy to be angry with her. After all she did manage to set the demon that killed his mother free but from what he could gather, it was an accident. She had been tricked into thinking that what she did would prevent one of the gates of hell from being opened. According to her, since then, she had been tracking the demon trying to right the wrong.

Angela watched Sam’s face trying to figure out what he was thinking. She told him everything about setting Azazel free and chasing him but she wasn’t ready to admit that she believed the reason his mother was dead was because of her and her friendship with Mary. She added, “I know Dean will need to know and you can tell him or I can. I won’t come between the two of you.”

Sam gave a sigh. “I’ll admit that it would be easy to just leave and be angry but to be angry over a mistake… At least you want to make amends.”

“That doesn’t quite answer my question.”

Sam remembered his dreams about her. She was always alone. What if it was telling him that if at least he didn’t make the effort to offer help, she would be alone? Maybe she wasn’t supposed to fight the demon on her own; that there was a reason she walked into his and his brother’s lives. He said, “You asked for help and we gave it. We’ll finish the job.”

“I did ask but I gave you the option to back out and that offer still stands. If you two want to go, I’ll understand,” Angela gave a slight smile. She truly did understand the feeling. She had walked away from a job or two herself because she disagreed with it.

“We’ll stay.”

Angela gave a slight nod. She gave a slight motion of her head. “I suppose we should get back to the car. Dean may have found something.” She then started walking back towards where the Impala was parked. She felt some measure of relief but a chill went down her spine. Somehow she got the feeling that what she told Sam would come back to haunt her and when it did, it would not be for the better.

Sam followed wondering what was going through Angela’s mind. He could tell something was on her mind as she walked away. As much as he wanted to ask her what was wrong, he got the feeling that she had spoken more than she wanted to about herself that day. Any more would have probably shut her down effectively and it was things that Dean would eventually have to know. What Sam knew though was that she trusted him with her secrets so he would trust her. He could trust that she would eventually tell him more about herself. That much he knew as he followed her back to the car.

****

Benny Haven’s Tavern hadn’t changed since the last time that she’d been there and that was well in 1846. Angela took a moment to take in the familiar smells of alcohol and wood smoke. She then drifted her attention back to the two Winchester brothers as they sat discussing what they found out that day. She took a sip of the stiff bracer she had ordered and listened to Dean tell them about what he had found out from that female cadet. She asked, “So Dean besides fraternizing with a cadet, what else did she say?” She gave a smirk as she said it.

Dean smirked back. He replied, “Hey I can’t help it if the ladies like a man with a badge.”

“Only you would brave enough to flirt with a cadet,” Angela replied as she took another sip of her drink.

“Yeah and I’m pretty sure you would do the same,” Dean replied taking a pull of his own drink.

“Dean,” Sam reminded his brother quietly.

“Right anyway, Cadet JoAnne Hickerson said that all the cadets that have been in the accident were dicks. The only one that didn’t fit the pattern was your boy Barcalow. From what she said, he is that eager to be a soldier.” Dean took a drink of his beer.

“So hazing is still a tradition at the point,” Angela muttered as she thought about it. She looked at the two brothers and explained, “They are called special drills and they are not quite uncommon. That might put us in a direction.” She then stared off into space a bit. Then her eyes spotted someone near the bar, someone she recognized. She then said, “I have an idea but I need to check on something. Maybe you two could do some research about a cadet dying in those barracks.”

“You need any help?” Sam asked as she got up. He had noticed that she had gotten a bit quiet after Dean gave his report even though she had been a bit jovial and showed them to the tavern stating that it had the best beer. She even sang a bawdy tune that had the whole tavern going for a round or two before they got down to business. The end result was that the tavern owner gave the three of them free beer for as long as they wanted. Now she was suddenly alert as if something was bothering her.

Angela knew that Sam was being polite. This time though, she had to take care of this on her own. She gave him a look that asked him to trust her as she said, “No. It requires a quick talk with the colonel and I’d rather get it done and over with.”

“Fine with me,” Dean said as he drank his beer. “Bastard’s too serious for me.”

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother and looked back at Angela, “So we meet you at the hotel?”

“Sure,” Angela replied as she pushed in her chair and added, “Meet you in about an hour.”

Dean waited until she was gone before saying, “I tell ya Sammy, she certainly knows how to get on someone’s good side. I like her.”

 _How much will you like her if you knew more about her?_ Sam gave his brother an indulgent smile and said, “Glad to see you’re enjoying yourself.”

“Come on Sammy. This job’s much easier than the others. Since when have we had so much cooperation from local authorities?”

“That would be none.”

“Exactly,” Dean replied with a smile. “So now enjoy your beer and then we’ll go do what you do best college boy.”

“Jerk,” Sam replied with a smile.

“Bitch.”

The two brothers stayed for about fifteen minutes more before they took their leave. The bartender flirted with Dean a bit and told them to come back again. Dean got her number and said to Sam on the way out, “Chicks love a guy with a badge.”

“Whatever you say, Dean.”

Moments later they were in their room. Dean was munching on a cheeseburger he picked up while Sam was doing research on his laptop. He was doing a search on West Point and anything related to violent deaths on the grounds. Sam glanced over at his brother just lounging on his bed eating. “Dude, do you have to eat that thing on my bed?”

Dean chewed the bite he had taken a bit before replying, “I don’t see your name written on this bed so yeah.”

“You know you’re a real jerk.” Sam then reverted his gaze back to the laptop screen and scrolled through his search options. Checking the screen he noticed that it was nearly over an hour since Angela said that she would be back. Perhaps there was a delay or her search was taking her longer than expected.

Dean finished his cheeseburger and threw the wrapper into the wastebasket. “Find anything?”

“Not much yet except for one hit about a ghost sighting,” Sam replied flipping open the window he had book marked. “It’s from a Times article in 1972 where a cadet sighted a ghost in full Jackson regalia in the barracks and it just disappeared into the walls.”

Dean was cleaning his mouth running his tongue along the inside. He then said, “Maybe they decided to keep this hush-hush. That dick colonel certainly wanted us to get in and get out.”

“Maybe,” Sam replied while staring at the screen. “It’s not uncommon for military bases to have ghosts. There have been sightings at air force bases throughout the years.”

“Well remember what Angie said. The academy has a strict sense of discipline and what we’ve seen, that colonel prefers to pretend that it doesn’t exist. Dick.” Dean began pacing until he put his hand in his pocket. He touched the bag that held the button and pulled it out. He then said, “I almost forgot. When I was taking EMF readings, which by the way, was off the charts, I found this by the railing.” He tossed the button to Sam. “Looks like a button but that’s not the interesting part. Check out the carving.”

Sam took the button out of the bag and looked at it. He frowned, “Is that a devil’s trap or anti possession mark?”

“That’s what I thought. Perhaps there’s a cadet who lost a button and knows a thing or two about the supernatural.”

“I don’t think so Dean,” Sam replied as he looked at the button carefully. “Looking at this button, I’d say this button is at least a hundred years old. Buttons from today’s uniforms are a different composite and a little flatter.” Sam rotated the button to look at the carving carefully. “Maybe our mystery ghost lost a button.”

Dean looked at his brother as if he had grown a second head. It always surprised him at how much Sam knew about things in general whether it was supernatural or not. “Dude seriously, you need to get a life.”

Sam rolled his eyes as he studied the button. “Dean I think this is an anti-possession mark. It has all the right elements. So maybe there was demonic activity here at the Point and either no one knows or no one is talking.”

“But we haven’t picked up on any demonic omens lately in this part of the country.” Dean paused a moment. He then said, “Unless this is an omen.”

Sam looked up at his brother. “You seriously think that this is an omen.”

“Hey I haven’t forgotten that the last time we were in a job with Angie we had to fight off a big nasty ancient demon. It could be a sign. Maybe Angie is a magnet for this kind of activity.”

Sam thought back to what Angela had told him and how she chased the demons. It was a possibility but he was going to give her the benefit of a doubt. He didn’t even know if he should tell Dean what she told him and she gave him permission to. He said, “Then again it could be coincidence. Remember they called her.”

“And she called us Sam.”

“She was asking for help on the case and if I recall you agreed to it.”

“I did but I can’t help but think that there’s something else going on around here. We’ve got no information on anything about this place. Maybe we should have let Angie make you a cadet.”

Sam sighed and replied, “It might have worked but then again it might not have.” He then went back to searching for violent deaths or any other sightings of their ghost.

Dean went back to thinking and remembered something that Angela mentioned, “Angie did mention something about hazing. What if our ghost was hazed or gone through a special drill and he died as a result of it?”

“Makes sense and according to your source all of the cadets that have died were dicks. Maybe they had a hand in these special drills,” Sam replied. He frowned as his search turned up nothing. “Still coming up with nothing Dean.”

“Can’t you just hack into the system or something?”

“And risk getting flagged and arrested for going into secure files, yeah sure.”

“What’s the problem Sam? You’ve done it before,” Dean replied as he frowned in confusion at his brother.  Sam was good at the hacking when necessary and he didn’t understand why he was balking now.

“Dean this is a military academy we’re talking about which is about the equivalent of a military base. It’s a bit different than the federal crap I’ve hacked. Their rules and their justice system.”

Dean then grinned, “Well you were pre law so you can get us out.” He then gave a playful slap on his brother’s shoulder.

“Not military law Dean. Different ball game.”

“Alright don’t get your panties in a twist. So what we go back to the dick colonel and ask for information regarding a possible ‘accidental’ death?”

Sam shrugged his shoulders. “Possibly. Maybe Angela figured that out and went to see him.”

At that moment, Dean checked his watch and saw that it was way past the hour that she said she would be back. He said, “Speaking of which, she’s rather late getting back. Think she might have gotten into trouble?”

“And if she did, she would find a way out of it more or less.” Sam shrugged his shoulders as he shut his laptop. “She might be trying to shake down the colonel into giving her access to the archives or something.” _Maybe even using that mind manipulating trick she used earlier. But only if she has to._

“Nearly two hours to shake him down? Come on Sam.”

Before Sam could reply, his phone when off. He pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open. “It’s a text message from Angela.”

“Well, what’s it say?”

Sam read it out loud, “Got access to system. Dealing with more than one.”

“Anything else?”

“That’s it.” Sam watched as his brother started to pace. He recognized the signs that he was getting agitated. He then said, “Dean, she may have encountered the spirit and couldn’t say more. We just have to wait.”

“Oh that is helpful.” Dean paced in agitation. He wanted to hint something and now he was being forced to wait. It was the hardest part of the job, waiting. He knew that if he went in halfcocked, that was a sure death sentence. “She wants us to wait.”

“I don’t think that was the point of the message Dean,” Sam replied as he put his phone away. “I think she was giving us the find and maybe she does need a bit of help. She said we were dealing with more than one spirit.”

“Yeah and?”

“She only has a 9mm with iron rounds.”

Dean realized what his brother was saying and went to the duffle where the weapons were. He pulled out a sawed off shotgun and tossed it to Sam. “Then I say we go hunting.”

****

Angela walked through the forest paths back towards the academy. She had seen Lenya in the tavern and had gotten up to follow and warn her off again but once she was outside, she lost sight of her. Angela shook her head and sighed thinking that there were things that were more than the troublesome spirit going on. Knowing that Sam wouldn’t be able to get much off a search, she decided to go get access from the source. She trudged through the old trails back to the academy to where Col Henderson’s office was.

Col Henderson was working another late night. It was interrupted by a surprise visit from his niece JoAnne, his sister’s kid. He was proud that she decided to join the military academy and never failed to make that known to her, in private of course, and at family reunions. JoAnne was saying, “Uncle, I think you should tell those CID agents everything or at least grant them access to the archives.”

“JoAnne Dana Hickerson, you would do well to stay out of that which you are not involved in,” Col Henderson replied.

“I knew most of those cadets and they were known for conducting special drills and Barcalow wouldn’t hurt a fly,” JoAnne protested, ignoring the ‘colonel’s tone’ that meant she was to follow orders. “Barcalow is more like you, dedicated to the army. All he wants is to be a soldier and if those agents can clear his name…”

“Not another word, young lady. Those accidents have nothing to do with the Derringer murder so just leave it be.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that Colonel,” Angela called from the door where she had eavesdropped on the conversation she stumbled on.

JoAnne turned to see a woman with tawny eyes and dark brown hair leaning against the door jam. She was tall and dressed like an agent though her jacket was unbuttoned. “Are you one of the agents CID sent?”

“JoAnne,” Col Henderson whispered in an annoyed tone.

Angela replied, “More or less. We originally came to investigate the Derringer murder but after some poking and prodding, the other accidents are related.”

“Well that would be something we should discuss in private. Cadet Hickerson, return to your barracks.” Col Henderson gave his niece a pointed glance that meant business.

JoAnne nodded and went back to her barracks though she was reluctant to do so. Col Henderson waited until she was gone before asking, “Now what can I do for you Agent Serves?”

Angela stood up straight and walked into the office boldly. She said, “You knew that we wouldn’t be able to dig up what we needed on the academy without access to the system.”

Col Henderson held his ground, “I have no idea what you are talking about. You are investigating a murder.”

“Caused by a vengeful spirit that died from a special drill.”

“What are you talking about?”

Angela stood up straight with her arms crossed and stared at the colonel. She replied, “Your victims were all part of conducting special drills on cadets. Cadet Barcalow mentioned a drill and since he wasn’t attacked like the others by this spirit, it led me to the conclusion that he was made to go through one.”

“Hazing is not allowed at this institution,” Col Henderson began reciting the public spiel.

“No but special drills are. Funny how it sounds like the code reds I’ve heard about,” Angela replied in a sarcastic tone. “Cadets come here to be soldiers not to die because some upperclassman doesn’t know when to quit. Now I need access to the archives.”

“I can’t allow that.”

“Do you want more cadets to die because of your willful ignorance? Just remember you called Morrie about this,” Angela retorted poking a finger into the colonel’s chest for good measure.

“Those deaths were accidental due to mishap during drills. You’re here to investigate the Derringer case and that’s all. You have the file on everything we have.” The colonel looked at Angela with a hardened look. “That is all you’re going to get. Now I suggest you leave before I call the MPs to escort you out.”

Angela took a step back but her gaze never wavered. She narrowed her eyes and replied, “This is proud institution. I get that but your ignorance of things that most people dismiss as fantasy has done nothing but gotten people killed. You’re a soldier Colonel. Isn’t the heart of the army that you watch the back of the man next to you and he watches yours?”

The colonel stiffened at the words. How dare she try to remind him of duty and honor and country? He gritted his teeth and replied, “Don’t presume to know anything about being a soldier. We live in a world where we are threatened by men and those men are armed with guns. You know who defends this country from that? Us. Certainly not you so don’t you dare presume anything. If you want to know I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand at post.”

 _Oh I know exactly what you mean you blind fool._ Angela kept her eyes narrowed. She replied, “And I am trying to do my job to make sure that you have good men and women to stand at post. I need access. I need to know if someone died because of a special drill.”

The colonel slammed his fist on the desk. “And for the last time, you have everything you need for the file. There are no cases of deaths from special drills. Now I suggest you get out before I call security and have you and your friends thrown out.”

Angela knew that she wasn’t going to win this one. She was going to have to ask Sam for drastic measures and have him hack into the system. She stifled the urge to give a nasty retort and replied, “Then I will leave but know this Colonel, those deaths will be on your hands.”

“I don’t think so Agent Sevres. Now get out.”

Angela said nothing more but took her leave and left the building. It had started growing dark with the buildings casting shadows in the moonlight. Angela gave a look over before taking off to head towards the paths that led to Benny Haven’s. From there she would make her way to the hotel and give the bad news.

She was walking by the barracks in question when she felt a sudden chill. She stopped and looked around. She happened to look up and see one of the windows starting to ice over. Reaching into her coat, she pulled out the gun that she kept on her person when she couldn’t carry Absolution. She entered the barracks and made her way towards the room that had the iced windows.  As she neared the floor, she noticed that her breath started to ice over. Suddenly she heard a scream and raced towards its origin.


	5. Chapter 5

JoAnne didn’t want to go back to her barracks. Rather she went towards where the murders happened. The barracks had been closed off and the cadets had been reassigned to temporary quarters until the investigation had been completed. She snuck around, avoiding the guard that had been assigned and went in through the side entrance. Slowly she made her way up the stairs after fishing out a penlight to see by.

She went to where Barcalow and Derringer’s room was and went in to poke around. She went slightly pale when she saw the dried puddle of blood. She didn’t think that humans had that much blood. Finding nothing, she exited the room and went to inspect the other rooms. She didn’t believe her uncle that the accidents were accidents. She really thought that something was going on and trying to frame Barcalow.

She felt bad that Barcalow was suffering for this. If anyone made a good soldier, it was Barcalow. He was smart and well-disciplined and willing to take the punishment for someone else. She liked the guy even though her uncle thought that he was lower than the plebes even though Barcalow was a yearling. That made her determined to find something that would clear Barcalow.

She was near the banister when it suddenly got cold. She pulled her jacket on tighter as her breath came out in clouds of smoke. Then the light of her penlight flickered. Frowning she tapped it wondering if the battery was going out. But then she realized that was impossible since that was a fresh battery. Then the light flickered and died out completely. She started to become scared and her breath came out in hitches.

She pulled open a random door and went into the room and shut the door behind her. She pulled out her cell phone to call her uncle. Flipping it open she saw that she didn’t have a signal and flipped it shut. Looking up she saw something in front of her. It flickered and became clear. It was dressed like a cadet but when she looked down... JoAnne did the only thing she could. She let out a scream as the thing approached her and kept asking, “Why?”

The thing kept getting closer and reached out towards her. She screamed again and put her hands up to defend herself as she backed into a corner. Suddenly there was a crash as the door was kicked in and that female agent stormed in with her gun drawn. She fired and the thing faded. JoAnne couldn’t believe at what just happened. She asked, “What the hell was that?”

Angela stormed through the door and saw the ghost. She fired with the iron round and the ghost dissipated. She knew that it would be back so she had to get the cadet out. Turning to look, she made out the cadet to be the same one that she met at the colonel’s office. The girl demanded what had just happened. _Better to tell the truth and maybe she’ll be more receptive than the colonel._ She replied, “That was ghost.”

JoAnne looked at the agent with a look that said Angela was crazy. She shook her head as she stammered out, “A…a what?”

Angela held out her hand and took the cadet’s hand and hauled her to her feet, “A ghost. The thing that killed those cadets. Now we’ve got to get out of here before it comes back.”

JoAnne still thought this was ridiculous. She replied, “No I’m not going anywhere. I need to find evidence that you agents missed to clear Barcalow.”

Angela should’ve known that she would be dealing with a stubborn girl. She said, “That is not an option. Now that thing is going to come back and…” Angela felt the chill and whirled around and saw the spirit, but it was different from the other one. “What the…?” She brought her gun up and fired. She then pushed the cadet to get moving. “Go. Now!”

It was quick work getting out of the barracks but that didn’t stop the ghosts. One appeared outside the barracks and started walking towards the cadet. Angela fired another shot and kept pushing the cadet away. “Dammit there are multiple spirits?”

JoAnne couldn’t believe what she was seeing and started running away from the agent who was firing at those things. She spotted her uncle walking towards his quarters and ran towards him shouting, “Colonel. Help me!”

Col Henderson turned towards the noise to see his niece running towards him and being followed by that agent with her gun drawn. He asked, “JoAnne what’s wrong?”

JoAnne started babbling about going into the barracks looking for evidence that may have been missed. When she got to the part where she saw the ghost, her uncle said, “JoAnne there’s no such thing as ghosts. It was probably a cadet on a dare.”

JoAnne looked at her uncle as if he were crazy. She replied, “Uncle Ted, it had a gaping hole in its stomach…” She then stopped when she looked behind her uncle and saw the ghost again. She pointed at the ghost and let out a scream.

The colonel looked behind him and saw what his niece had been staring at and saw the ghost of a cadet. It just stood there with a gaping hole in its stomach. It looked at him and then the colonel felt himself flying through the air where he landed with a hard thud. He groaned and turned as he watched the thing start walking towards his niece. Suddenly a shot rang out and the thing disappeared. He looked up and saw that agent walk up and say, “Now are you willing to cooperate Colonel?”

****

Angela looked out the window of the colonel’s office. She was careful not to disrupt the salt lines she had laid down with salt that she managed to nab from the tavern on a hunch. This was more than she bargained for. She turned towards the colonel, “So now are you going to see reason?”

Col Henderson was looking like he was losing it. “It’s not possible.”

“Oh it’s very possible and because we didn’t have what we need, we have no idea what we’re up against.” Angela turned to look at the colonel with a glare and then looked at the girl with a look of concern. “We need the archives.”

“Will that make those ghosts go away?” JoAnne looked at the agent with hope.

“I’m hoping to find information on any deaths that occurred in the past here,” Angela explained as she took a look at her watch. It was already an hour past the time that she said she would meet the Winchesters. _Dammit!_

“Is that all you need? Access?” JoAnne asked. She had an idea and she was willing to help this agent with anything to get rid of those ghosts.

“JoAnne,” the colonel warned.

“Uncle Ted. Those spirits or ghosts came after me. I want to clear Cadet Barcalow’s name,” JoAnne glared at her uncle. “You can’t pretend anymore.”

Angela listened to the exchange. She asked, “Is there a way to get remote access? We have a computer and the gear we need is at our hotel in the village.”

JoAnne nodded. She then explained, “There is a special server that cadets can access. You do need access codes or passwords to log on. I can lend you mine.”

Angela nodded. Finally they were making some headway but then a thought occurred to her. She asked, “Wait. Won’t you get in trouble for this?”

JoAnne gave a slight grin, “It’s my personal access code. I can log on to the site from any computer just as long it is a secured network. Better than a hack job.” She crossed her arms as if she were pleased with herself. “Besides I get some leeway being the niece of the colonel here.”

This was music to Angela’s ears. She pulled out her cell phone and texted a message. She noticed that the girl was looking at her expectantly. She explained, “Just contacting my friends. If we’re getting off campus, we’re going to need help.”

“Can’t you just shoot anything that appears?”

Angela typed in the message as she spoke, “I only have five iron rounds left. Not enough to get into the village and I’m sure you don’t want to stay here. My friends will have salt rounds.”

“Salt?” The colonel looked at Angela with a disbelieving look. “Condiments?”

“Spirits can’t cross a line of salt and the rounds just make them go away like the iron rounds,” Angela replied as she flipped her phone shut. She then checked her cartridge once again. It was more reassuring for her while she kept watch. It wasn’t very long when her phone rang and she answered it, “Sam?”

JoAnne tried to listen in on the conversation but it was one sided with the agent giving responses. The agent said, “Yeah I’m fine. More than one and we may have access to the archives remotely. Fine.”

JoAnne asked, “Are they coming?”

Angela gave a slight motion with her finger. She then spoke into the phone, “Calm down Dean. I ran into some trouble. Five rounds. Well I wasn’t expecting to be assaulted by spirits now and like I can get away with carrying the sawed off shotgun. So are you coming? Yeah the colonel’s office. Salt lines for now but we need to get off campus. Right. See you in twenty.”

The colonel had been pacing, waiting for the conversation to finish. When it was over, he said, “Great so now we have to wait for your cleanup crew to come with backup.”

“They are the backup,” Angela replied. She then looked at the girl and added, “They are very good at what they do.”

Twenty minutes came and went but Angela’s gaze never left the window. She wondered if they had run into any trouble with the guard. She prayed that they at least had their IDs with them and the visitor passes. She sighed a bit and stretched her shoulders just as a nagging tug came into the back of her mind. She recognized it for what it was after spending twenty-three years training to recognize it. She focused and closed her eyes for a moment.

JoAnne sat in one of the guest seats of her uncle’s office feeling anxious and bored. Twenty minutes had passed and there was no sign of the agent’s partners. She looked at her uncle who merely muttered something about CID being unreliable or something like that. She turned away from her uncle and focused on the agent who hadn’t moved since receiving the call. She thought the agent to be remarkably calm even though there were ghosts out there waiting for them. She was about to ask the agent something but decided against it. Instead she moved to make herself more comfortable. She was just seating herself when she saw one standing at the door of the office. She yelped out loud and felt out of the chair.

Angela heard the yelp and whirled around to see the ghost. She said, “It’s all right. The spirit can’t cross the salt line.” She then walked forward slowly towards the ghost. A strange idea came to her and she decided to act upon it. She spoke to the ghost, “Who are you?”

The ghost turned to look at her. He faded slightly but remained where he was. He looked at her with a gaunt expression. His uniform was in tatters and the gaping hole was like something out of a horror picture. He said, “Why?”

Angela responded, “Why what? What happened to you?”

The ghost looked at her. It looked as if the eyes glazed over and then cleared. It then said, “Why am I here?”

Angela thought it a strange question. She peered at the ghost and it looked as if the ghost had no idea that he was wandering around the grounds. She asked, “What is your name Cadet?”

The ghost suddenly straightened up as if he had heard an order. It then said, “Cadet George Taylor, sir!”

Suddenly it flickered again and was joined by another ghost. It said, “Mister Taylor. You having trouble following orders?”

“No sir!”

“Then you will have a very special drill. Report to the barracks and retrieve your sword!”

The ghosts then flickered and disappeared. JoAnne asked, “What was that?”

Angela frowned a bit puzzled. She gave an answer that she wasn’t sure if it was adequate or not, “I think we were witnessing something similar to an echo. Thing is spirits replay their echoes in the places that they died.”

“An echo? What does that mean?”

“It means that the spirit is reenacting its death over and over,” Angela explained. “From my understanding, that particular echo resulted in the death of a cadet from a special drill. From the looks of it, it is possible the one giving the drill died from that as well.”

“But why here in this building?”

“I don’t know,” Angela replied as she looked down the hall.  She then muttered, “Where are you Sam and Dean?”

JoAnne watched as the agent paced checking everything. The agent looked agitated as if something weren’t right with everything. She ventured, “So when are your friends coming?”

Angela didn’t answer. She was listening for something as she paced the room. Her phone then rang. She picked it up. The voice on the end made her eyes widen in relief. She answered, “We’ll meet you at the doors.” She then hung up the phone and turned to her companions. She then said, “We’re leaving now.”

“Where are we going?” JoAnne asked.

“I’m going to my quarters,” the colonel suddenly stood up and started walking out. At the door to his office, he turned and looked at Angela, pointed at her and said, “You take your business and get off these grounds. I don’t want to see you again. Ever.” He then turned and left. He made it out of the building and to his car and drove to where his quarters were.

Once he was inside, he went to where he kept his whiskey and pulled out a bottle and took a drink. He tried to convince himself that all he saw was an illusion. A product of too many late nights. He was in the middle of another drink when a voice said, “Oh it is not an illusion.”

Col Henderson turned to see a girl with reddish hair and green eyes with cream colored skin. He then demanded, “What are you doing here? These are my private quarters. What is your name cadet?”

The girl then laughed at him with a tinkling laugh. She walked up to him and replied, “Oh I am no cadet.”

“You are still here without authorization.”

“Keep spouting your rules and regulations. That won’t work here Colonel,” the girl replied as she withdrew to walk to where the whiskey bottle was. She took a drink herself and relished in the taste. “I see you have expensive taste. Very good indeed.”

“Who are you and what do you want?”

The girl gave a sly smile and then gave a coy look, “My friends call me Lenya and what I want is you.”

****

JoAnne felt her face burn with shame as she watched her uncle storm out. She wasn’t going to take chances. She would stay with this agent until this whole thing was over. She followed the agent through the darkened building, staying behind her and occasionally looking behind her. She said, “I’m sorry for what my uncle said.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Angela replied, “He made his choice. The best I can do is try to end this before more people get hurt.” She pushed forward, holding her light over the wrist that held her gun. She had learned that from a cop whom she rescued a couple of years ago from a djinn in a warehouse off of the Santa Ana docks. It served her well when she had to venture into dark houses or buildings when on a hunt.

JoAnne pulled out her penlight and found that it was working again so she kept it on and turned it around to inspect the building’s halls. It was a lot different at night than during the day. She kept the pace the agent had set until her light started flickering again. She said, “Uh, Agent Serves?”

Angela knew they were coming when her own light began to flicker. It then began to get cold real quick and her breath came out in a cloud. She brought one arm behind her and grabbed the girl and pushed her in front of her saying, “Start running towards the door.”

JoAnne watched as her light flickered and died again as well as the agent’s light. She let the agent push her towards the door. Waiting for no invitation, she started running towards the exit. She barreled out of the doors and started down the steps when she was suddenly grabbed and she screamed but her survival instincts kicked in. She took a swing and connected with a face. Another hand touched her and she smacked it away and gave a 1-2 punch along with a kick. Her mind barely registered the sound of human grunts. All she wanted to do was get away.

She started again when a hand touched her and asked her to wait. She grabbed the wrist and punched again connecting. The hand released her and she started to run again but tripped. She then looked up and saw the ghost again and started backing away until it dissipated after a shot rang out. JoAnne found herself being hauled to her feet. She whirled around to find herself facing the agent that sent her out. The agent said, “Next time you might want to watch where you strike.”

JoAnne looked down at the ground to find two guys on the ground looking like they went ten rounds with Jack Dempsey. One she recognized as the agent she talked to earlier and she immediately felt bad. “I—I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

Angela looked at the girl with a bemused smile as she glanced down to see Sam and Dean lying on the ground. _Looks like I’m playing nurse tonight._ She looked at the shotgun in her hands and replied, “You pack a nice punch.” She kneeled to check first Sam and then Dean. She was able to determine that it was just a couple of nasty bumps to the head which was confirmed by the slight moan from Dean. They needed to get out of there. She looked at JoAnne as she fished the keys to the Impala out of Dean’s jacket pocket and asked, “Can you carry Dean?”

JoAnne shrugged her shoulders to indicate she wasn’t sure. She then said, “I think so. I definitely know I can’t carry that giant.” She pointed at Sam.

“Wasn’t going to even ask,” Angela replied to JoAnne. She went over to Sam and without a second moment, she hoisted Sam up and slung him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She picked up the shotgun she had and said, “Come on. We have to get off campus right now.”

JoAnne looked down at Dean and then picked him up and slung his arm over her shoulder. She followed the agent who was walking upright with the giant over her shoulder like it was nothing. This was one of the craziest nights she ever had and she wondered if she was going insane. She struggled to keep her balance while carting along the one called Dean. She paused slightly when she heard him moan but he didn’t wake up. _I must’ve hit him harder than I thought._

JoAnne followed the agent grateful that no more of those ghosts showed up. She looked at the car that they were going to take and she looked at the agent and asked, “Are you for real?”

Angela opened the door to the front passenger seat and propped Sam down into it, being careful not to give him a bigger headache than he probably already had. She opened the rear doors and indicated to the girl that she was to put Dean in. She said, “Put him in and get in. We haven’t much time.”

JoAnne gave a near disbelieving look but she obeyed and put the guy into the backseat. He slumped over and she groaned. The guy was no lightweight and she was going to have to push him over when she got in. She grimaced when Dean’s head smacked the window when she shoved him over when she got in. She hissed and said, “I think that’s going to leave a mark.”

“He’ll get over it,” Angela replied as she turned the car on and started down the drive that led off campus. She glanced over at Sam leaning against the window. She noticed a bruise starting to form and wondered what else happened.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the girl’s voice said, “Alright. Can you please tell me what the hell is going on? Ghosts I can handle but to see a woman lift gigantor there in the front like a sack of potatoes, that’s something else!”

Angela gave a slight chuckle as she sent the Impala purring back towards the village. She gave a slight toss of her head and replied, “Well there are things that are better left unsaid.”

“Look you explained about the ghosts, why can’t you tell me about this?” JoAnne leaned forward to be right in the agent’s ear. When the agent didn’t answer right away, she then said, “Okay how about this for starters: what is your real name?”

Angela glanced in the rearview mirror before looking forward on the road. She then replied, “My name is Angela. The one next to you is Dean and the Sasquatch up here is Sam.”

“Are you really CID?”

“No.”

“Then why are you here? Is it because of the ghosts?”

“Your uncle called a friend of ours at CID. Put the pieces together.” Angela glanced out the window. She then checked the rear view mirror again and she softened her expression a little. She then said, “I know this has been a strange night but I’ll explain everything once we get to our hotel. You’ll be safe there.”


	6. Chapter 6

Sam groaned as the ice pack was placed on his forehead. He had never been hit that hard before except when that vampire in Chicago did. He looked up at Angela who was watching him for any signs of a concussion. She asked, “How do you feel?”

“Like someone hit me with a 2x4,” Dean called from his side of the room where he was holding his own ice pack to his head while holding his side.

“I’ve said I’m sorry about twenty times already,” JoAnne said as she handed him the bottle of aspirin. She also handed over the bottle of whiskey that Angela had brought in after they brought the two guys in.

Dean accepted the aspirin and the whiskey. He popped in two pills and took a drink straight from the bottle. He replied, “Right. Being hit upside the head as well as a kick to the ribs is just what I wanted.”

JoAnne rolled her eyes as she snatched the bottle of aspirin back and tossed it over to Angela who popped out two pills and held them out to Sam. JoAnne then said, “Hey, you grabbed me. I’ve been grabbed like that before and let’s just say that it was not a pleasant experience. So I’m sorry.”

Dean scowled as he took another drink of whiskey before handing it over to Sam. “I never thought I’d get my ass handed to me by a girl.”

“Right, Dean and I’m sure you would have been able to handle it if we hadn’t been tossed around a couple of times by those ghosts,” Sam spoke as he took a drink to swallow the aspirin. He didn’t expect Angela to snatch the bottle out and cap it and place it on the table with decisiveness. He gave her a look that asked what she was doing.

“General rule is that ghosts are tied to the places that they die. These bastards just walked across the place like they were on their personal stroll around the park,” Dean scowled at his brother waving his hand for emphasis. He looked at Angela and asked, “Please tell me Angie that you have some idea of what is going on here.”

“Don’t call me that, Dean,” Angela replied as she pulled out Sam’s laptop and put it on the table. She then said, “I’m puzzled to that myself. The only way I know ghosts could do that is if they possess someone and then they can go wherever.” She opened up the search browser on the computer and pulled up the main page for the Point. She began scrolling looking for the main page for the archives while changing the IP address. “The only thing that comes to mind is that there are either cursed objects all over the place or someone is controlling them. Like a witch or something.”

At that moment, she remembered Lenya and her idea of fun. Besides the other thing, Lenya loved tormenting souls by forcing them to rise and do her bidding. Angela recalled how easy it was for her to manipulate the souls that had no problem with cruelties. Those that were not inherently cruel were tormented by the things they were forced to do. Angela recalled some particularly nasty things she was forced to watch and she couldn’t stop it and wondered if Lenya was up to her tricks again. It was on her mind as she brought up the main page for the archives and it showed the prompt for the access codes. She motioned to JoAnne and said, “Enter in your access.”

“Great. I hate witches,” Dean muttered. “The type of mojo they use…”

Sam didn’t mean to ignore his brother but his attention was drawn to Angela while she was accessing the pages and changing the IP address. He could tell that something was on her mind by the intense look she had given the screen. When she got up to let the girl JoAnne do her thing, Sam quickly averted his gaze to make it look like he wasn’t staring at her. He got the feeling that there were things that Angela had seen that she couldn’t begin to describe even if she wanted to. As much as he wanted to question her, he knew instinctively that the best thing to do was just to be there as a friend for when she wanted to talk and so he would respect that. He was surprised when she sat beside him and asked, “Can I see the button?”

After waking up in the room, Sam and Dean had told what they had managed to find out and Dean mentioned the button he had found. Sam fished it out of his pocket and held it out to Angela. “You think that maybe it is tied to this?”

Angela took the button and studied it. She hadn’t seen buttons like that since the 1850s. She rolled it over in her fingers to get a feel for it. When her fingers brushed against the carving, she turned the button over and studied the carvings. “Anti-possession mark. Very clever to put it on the button.”

“Could it be remains?” Sam asked.

“Possibly. Wouldn’t put it past that.”

“Well if you’re done with your junk, I logged you in and wrote down the access codes. Do what you want with it. As for me, I’m heading back to my barracks,” JoAnne interrupted as she picked up her jacket and headed towards the door.

“You can’t go back now,” Angela said.

“Angie’s right,” Dean added giving a smirk in Angela’s direction. He thought she was too sensitive like Sam about her name. “You can’t go back. Not tonight.”

“You don’t understand, I could get in trouble for being out of my barracks without authorization,” JoAnne explained. She was annoyed that she had to be in their company for much longer.

“Well excuse me but in case you haven’t noticed you’ve been chased by ghosts trying to kill you,” Dean retorted. He wondered if she was stupid like that dick colonel. “As long as they are coming you are not safe.”

“Well I’m not going to be labeled AWOL and ruin my military career, douchebag,” JoAnne retorted.

Angela raised a brow in surprise. One glance at Sam told her he was just as surprised as she. She went back to studying the girl. There was something interesting about the girl that she couldn’t quite place her finger on. She also thought the naughty thought that this was a good set up for angry sex between the girl and Dean. She immediately dismissed it though it was humorous. She watched Dean’s reaction to the girl’s comment. It was rather comical.

Dean replied, “And you won’t have much of a career if you’re dead.”

“Dean.”

“Shut up, Sam. You know I’m right,” Dean replied without looking at his brother. “If she goes back there’s no telling what will happen if tonight was any indication.”

“You don’t tell me what to do. You’re not my superior.” JoAnne stood by the door glaring at Dean. “And don’t you try anything. I knocked you out once and I can do it again.”

Before it could get out of hand, Angela decided to intervene. She stood up and said, “Alright that’s enough.” She glanced at Dean before looking at JoAnne and said, “You’re right. We can’t keep you here so you are free to go.”

“Thank you,” JoAnne replied in a dramatic fashion. “Now if you’ll excuse me.” She put her hand on the door to open it. Once she got it open, it was yanked out of her hand and slammed shut. She turned and looked at the trio looking at her. “What in hell was that?”

“You forgot something,” Angela said. She made no apologies for her telekinetic abilities ever since they have helped on more than one occasion.  She walked over to the duffel and pulled out a bag of salt and went over towards the girl. “Take this.”

JoAnne opened the bag and looked at the contents. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Salt? For what?”

Angela gave a slight toss of her shoulders in a shrug. “You remember. Line your doors and windows in your room and you should be fine.”

JoAnne gave a shrug of her own as if everything were hunky dory and closed the bag. She gave a slight chuckle and said, “I can’t believe I am going along with this but thanks. If you need me to do anything at the Point, call me. Left my cell with my access codes.”

Angela gave a slight nod. “Be careful, Cadet.”

JoAnne nodded and left the room. Angela waited until she was gone before saying, “She’ll be fine Dean.”

“Right.”

“We couldn’t keep her against her will. There is only so much you can do when trying to convince someone that there are things that go bump in the night,” Angela replied as she cleaned up what she could. She glanced at the two brothers. “Heck try doing that with the dick colonel.”

“You’re telling me,” Dean replied as he put the ice pack back on his head. “So what now?”

Angela shut the laptop and said, “You two are going to call it a night. We can pick up tomorrow with the research.”

“Since when are you the boss of us?” Dean glanced upwards at Angela.

“Please. You need someone short of kicking your ass to get you to do anything,” Angela replied. She put the button she had been holding into her jacket pocket. “I’m not trying to be the boss of you. Just call it a night and I’ll see you in the morning.” She gave a slight frown as she moved her fingers slightly and the door opened. She walked out of the room and it closed behind her without her touching it.

“Man and I thought it was all for show,” Dean commented as he stood up and walked over to where the whiskey bottle was and popped it open to take a drink.

“Dean you remember that night. That wasn’t for show,” Sam replied as he stood up to dump the ice into the sink in the bathroom.

“Yeah I remember.”

Sam glanced over at his brother before leaning against the wall to think a little. So far this job has been stranger than the ones he and Dean had done before Angela walked into their lives. Funny thing was Angela was expecting it to be a simple salt and burn as well but now she seemed unsure. He sighed and said, “I guess we should turn in.”

“Oh so you’re going to let her tell you what to do?”

“Dean,” Sam looked at his brother with an annoyed look. “Just let it lie. We’ve both had our asses handed to us big time and we just got a hold of restricted files… well access to them. Let’s just call it a night. I’ll lay down salt lines.” To show his brother he meant it, Sam grabbed one of the bags of salt and began laying down salt lines.

Dean sighed and picked up another and started on another window. He knew Angie was right that they needed to call it a night. He had nothing against her but he just wanted to take it slow to trust her and it seemed that she approved of that at times. He took another drink of the whiskey and started laying down salt at the door.

****

Angela didn’t head to her room at first. Rather she headed towards the roof of the hotel. She needed to think alone for a while. There were things that triggered memories and knowledge that she hadn’t thought about in years. She went towards the window at the end of the hall opening the window before she got there. She looked around to make sure no one was watching before climbing out of the window and scaling the wall of the hotel. She climbed all the way up to the roof and sat at the highest peak and stared up at the moon.

It had been a long time since she had last took a moment to sit and look up at the stars. Angela looked up and picked out the different constellations she had learned over the years. While she was doing that, she pulled out the button Sam had given her and started mulling over the events that had happened since they arrived. The signs were certainly like Lenya’s MO.

“What’s the matter Angie? Having trouble working the case?”

Angela closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She replied, “What are you doing here Lenya? I warned you…”

“Aww you still don’t want to play with your favorite sister? You hurt me. Truly,” Lenya replied as she walked along the roof towards Angela.

“You are **not** my sister hell bitch,” Angela retorted. She clenched the button into her hand resisting the urge to launch into a fist fight on top of the hotel. “Get out before I force you out.”

Lenya gave a tinkling laugh as she walked the edge of the peak of the roof. She had always loved Angela’s sense of humor especially when she paid that nice long visit to Daddy. “Now you know that if you exorcise me, I’ll just crawl right back out of the pit and find you again. And you think this time was hard enough.”

“You know I am supposed to be hidden from you,” Angela replied.

“Oh yes,” Lenya replied like a little girl getting excited over getting cake and ice cream. “The nice little tattoo your handler gave you all those years ago. Tell me how are things going along for the both of you.” Lenya watched the expression on Angela’s face and smiled with a fake apology. “Oh I’m sorry. I forgot about that falling out you two had.”

“Cut the crap, Lenya,” Angela snapped. “What in the name of hell do you want?”

Lenya contorted her face into a pout. She then said, “You are so mean little sister. I’m here to help you.”

Angela scoffed, “Please. The only help you give is to help yourself.” Angela leaned over to rest her elbows on her knees. “I mean it. Leave.”

Lenya narrowed her eyes at Angela and they changed to a milky white before reverting back to the coloring of human eyes. “Alright, have it your way. I tried playing it nice with you little sister.” She walked straight up towards Angela and grabbed her by her shoulders and rammed her against the chimney. “I can put up with you being a bitch for only so long. Now you’re going to be a good little sister and listen to me.”

Angela disliked being manhandled and retaliated by striking Lenya’s arms and pushed her away. Her tawny eyes began to glow as her power surged through her blood. “Hell bitch I warned you.”

Lenya’s eyes reverted to the milky white as she replied, “Watch your tone. Or I will feed you to all of the raised spirits that the witch conjured up and watch them peel the flesh from your bones.” She then paused as if to think, “Well the vessel possessed by the witch controls them.”

“I should’ve known you would have done everything to draw me here as well as the Winchesters.” Angela inwardly berated herself for falling for it.

Lenya laughed, “Oh I don’t care about Sammy Winchester right now. I am here to watch all the fun. It is your job to find the witch or the pathetic meat suit that raised the dead.” Her eyes went back to normal as she took a few backwards steps to show off her prowess. “Provide a good show and maybe I won’t tell big brother Dean what you think of little Sammy.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh I think you do little sister.” Lenya then went excited like a little girl. She clapped her hands together and said, “Oh so cute. My little sister protects the little brother. It’s adorable.”

Angela stood there and gave a warning glance. She then said, “Leave the Winchesters alone. They don’t need your poison.”

“And they need yours? My sweet little sister,” Lenya took a step forward, “You are so sweet. It’s all in the blood.” She then touched Angela on the cheek, giving her a pat before taking off.

Angela took in deep breaths of anger and she wiped her cheek off with vigor. She realized that she had clenched the button tight in her hand so she opened her palm. It had left an indentation in her hand. She stared at it for the longest time. _What am I doing?_

****

JoAnne made it back to her room without much mishap and without getting caught by the guards. Her roommate was asleep which gave her plenty of opportunity to lay down the salt lines. She still thought it was crazy but after what she had seen that night, she was willing to go on a little faith. She finished laying down the salt lines and saw that she had quite a bit left. For some reason she felt compelled to lay a ring of salt around hers and her roommate’s beds. It provided some measure of comfort.

JoAnne sat on her bed to think about what had happened that night. She thought about her uncle and thought he was a dick for insisting that the ghosts were a figment of the imagination. Her mother on the other hand believed in this stuff. That had JoAnne thinking. She got off her bed and went to her footlocker and pushed aside the uniforms that were hers. She found a dust covered box in the back and pulled it out. She walked over to her bed and sat there staring at the lid.

_“Mom, what is this?” JoAnne looked at her mother with a puzzled expression. Her uncle was waiting outside the car to take her to the Point. In her hands was a wooden box with some strange symbols on it._

_“It’s your heritage,” her mother replied. “I want you to take it wherever you go. It will be your shield.” Her mother smiled to give reassurance._

_JoAnne looked down at the box. She knew her mother was into this stuff as well as her father. Her mother though never tried to push it on to her especially after she expressed interest in a military career like her Uncle Ted. This was the first. She looked at her mother and asked, “What is it?”_

_Her mother looked down at the box almost lovingly. She stroked the surface before replying, “It’s a journal on everything our family has done. It is our heritage.”_

_JoAnne almost rolled her eyes but she had the feeling that something else was behind the words her mother wanted to say. “Mom?”_

_You may need it.” Her mother then looked up at her and said, “One day you’ll meet others like your father and me. They may say things that you may not understand at first. This will help you to understand, plus a few odds and ends to protect yourself.”_

_JoAnne looked down at the box and then back up at her mother. She wasn’t sure about taking it with her but it would help her mother’s peace of mind. Her mother always was overprotective when she wanted to do things that were considered normal. She would take it. She bent and put it in her bag. “I will keep it with me, Mom.”_

_That’s all I ask.”_

JoAnne sat there looking at the box in her lap. Her mother had been right about one thing. She did meet people like her parents. Maybe her mother was right about other things too. Carefully she blew the dust off the lid of the box to reveal the symbols etched into the surface. She recognized them well. Her mother had them placed on things that required special protection in the house. Her fingers traced the edges of the carvings, following the lines.

Without reservation, JoAnne opened the box. Inside was a leather-bound book with a protective seal embossed on the cover. Inside were some cloth covered objects nestled against it. JoAnne reached for the book first and placed it carefully on her lap. She stared at the cover for the longest time, debating on whether or not to open it. “Fuck it,” she muttered and opened the cover.

Inside was a folded piece of paper. Picking it up, JoAnne found it to be the thick paper that her mother liked to use when she wrote down the Latin phrases she and her father used. It was folded in half and it was tied with a ribbon that was attached to a necklace with a charm on it. She undid the ribbon and opened the paper. It was yellowed with age but the writing was her mother’s script, nice and strong… as if it were written yesterday.

_My dearest JoAnne,_

_If you are reading this, it means that the world your father and I have worked so hard to protect you from has finally caught up and found you. I know you never liked the fact that we kept secrets from you but we wanted you to grow up like a normal child and make your own choices. This chest that has been entrusted to you is my gift to you._

_I know it is not easy to hear this but hopefully the hunters you have met by now will have made it somewhat easier for you. I know that while it may seem crazy and downright insane at first, I know that you will listen first, ask questions and come to your own conclusions. It is one of things that makes me so proud of you. It is a family trait your grandmother liked to tell me when I was growing up and I know it was passed on to you._

_Inside the chest is the family grimmoiré. It contains all the knowledge of the supernatural, the world that many people don’t know about. Knowledge is your best defense. Your father and I have also included special weapons to defend yourself with. These are your weapons and shield. Finally the necklace attached is your guard against those things that want to use you against humanity. Wear it at all times or go for a more permanent version._

_I give you these things because it is a part of you, a part of your family. There are things that are far older than we can conceive and it has been passed down through our family throughout generations. Our family comes from a long line of hunters, true hunters. There are others like us and there are those that come into this world for other reasons. Yet we are all on the same side. We protect the innocent. It is still your choice to follow us but you must be the one to make it. Press forward my daughter and know that your father and I love you._

_Your Loving Mother,_

_Eleanor Zandra Henderson Hickerson_

JoAnne carefully folded the letter shut and looked at the necklace that had tied the letter together. She looked up at the wall and then taking a breath, she put it on. She then flipped the page of the book and began to read.


	7. Chapter 7

_It was dark. Nothing could be seen. Then the light flashed and there was a shriek. She opened her eyes and looked around. Right in front of her face was a pair of milky white eyes. The owner giggled playfully. “Wake up little sister. Time for some fun!” Then there was that annoying girlish giggling._

_Suddenly there was intense pain as the blade slid inside of her. She could feel the blood running. Then a warm, moist feeling came. She felt it lap at the blood. It rubbed sensually along her skin, picking up the blood. Then lips closed over the wound and sucked sensually. She grimaced at the pleasure it brought her and she struggled. Then there was another stab of pain…_

Angela opened her eyes in a snap. She took a deep breath and sat up slowly. Looking around, she was glad that nothing had gone flying throughout the room as was usually the case when she had a nightmare. She rubbed her face and got out of bed deciding that she would go for a walk. She opened the door to her room and walked out into the hall in her sleeping clothes and socks.

She found one of the communal rooms on her floor and went to sit in a chair to think for a while. Glancing over at a side table, she found a book that had probably been left there by one of the other guests. She picked it up and read the title. _Dorian Grey? How fitting._ Angela gave a chuckle in amusement and opened it. It had been some time since she last read the classic.

A few chapters into the book, Angela became distracted by the nightmare she just had. Sighing she closed the book with her finger in the book to hold her place. She stared out the window trying to banish it.

“Can’t sleep?”

Angela turned in her seat to look at her visitor. “I thought you were going to call it a night, Sam.”

Sam shrugged his shoulders as he walked into the common room. “Couldn’t sleep.”

“Headache?”

Sam sat down in the seat next to Angela. “No.” He then made a face as if debating what to tell her. He glanced at her and saw that she was waiting patiently for him to continue. “I had another nightmare… about Jessica.”

Angela nodded slightly. “That would cause sleeplessness. That kind of thing never goes away.” She looked out the window again for a moment. “Was it that bad?”

“Every time.”

“I’m sorry.” Angela turned to look at Sam. She then added, “I had one myself. Of one of the worst moments of my life.” She then gave a slight humorless chuckle, “One of the nasty side effects of this job. I don’t sleep much anymore.”

Sam leaned back in his chair. He agreed with Angela about the job but he wondered why she continued to do it if it wreaked havoc on her. Before he could stop himself, he asked, “Why do you still do it?”

Angela looked at Sam with a raised brow. To her it was fairly obvious, at least now it was, back then it was another story. Or maybe it was always like that. She knew Sam didn’t mean any harm though she was curious about his persistence and why she easily gave up her past to him. She replied, “Living pretty much for an eternity provides a need for purpose.” She then tossed the book on her lap back on the table and muttered, “Or the fact that because of your father every demon possible is out to get you one way or the other.”

Sam frowned slightly at Angela’s choice of words. Even more so when she tossed the book she had been reading on the nearby table. “How old are you really?” He asked the question before really thinking it through and he waited for the response that most women gave.

Angela looked over at Sam. She knew he didn’t mean to offend her and the truth was he didn’t. Besides, she had already revealed to a degree that she was a nice old broad. She gave a wry smile, “Would you believe me if I told you that I was born in the late 1400s in Italy?”

Sam’s eyes widened slightly. It was one thing to hear that she had been here at West Point in 1846 but to hear when and where she was born was another story. He gave a breath and a slight toss of his head. “Well Dean would say that you look good for your age.”

“He certainly would… before he ganked me,” Angela replied with her wry humor. “Well if he had never met me.” She gave a slight chuckle. “You shouldn’t be surprised given the things you’ve seen over the years but I guess there are a few things that still do. Heck I surprise even myself.” She looked at Sam and gave a slight smile as she noticed his eyes starting to droop with sleep. “Now I’m boring you with my life history. Those tales about old folks’ stories boring the youngsters really are true.” She gave a quiet laugh at the thought particularly the irony that she didn’t even look like an old woman.

Sam realized that he was getting sleepy. He thought that he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep after his nightmare. Now just sitting here and talking to Angela, he felt ready to drop dead. Hearing her joking comment and her laugh, he replied, “Maybe it’s because the company is so pleasant.”

Angela smirked, “Are you trying to flirt with me, Sam Winchester?”

“No.” Sam went on the defensive looking at Angela as if she were crazy.

Angela laughed before she let out a yawn. She then said, “I guess I’m getting tired myself.” She stretched realizing that the tension from her nightmare was gone. “But I think I need some tea.” She stood up and gave an upward stretch before bending over to stretch by wrapping her arms around her legs.

Sam watched her with an incredulous expression on his face before shaking his head and standing up to stretch. He then smiled and gave a slight shake of his head before asking, “Is this one of those mind things you do?”

Angela hadn’t moved from her position. She turned her head so she was looking at Sam. She replied, “No. Like I said before, I don’t like using them. I guess I just needed to get my mind off of things and from the looks of it, you too” She then straightened out, satisfied that she felt relaxed. “Sometimes talking about things other than what is bothering you is a way to relax and be ready for when you do need to talk. Now I’m going to get some tea and try to go back to bed. It might be a good idea for you to do the same.”

Angela turned to head back down the hall towards her room while Sam watched. Maybe she was right about things like this. She was after all close to five hundred years old and knew quite a bit. He did feel more relaxed. He said, “Wait. Could I join you?”

****

“Rise and shine, Sammy!” Dean enjoyed finding new and interesting ways to wake up his brother. He gave a punch to what he was sure was Sam’s shoulder only to find that it was way too soft to be his Sasquatch of a brother.

Dean pulled the covers back to reveal that what he had hit was a pillow. He frowned and looked around the empty room. “Sam?” Dean checked the bathroom, “Sammy?”

Finding that his brother was nowhere in sight, Dean came to the conclusion that he might have gone on a coffee/doughnut run. Sam usually did when he woke up early. Seeing that there was nothing he could do about it, he went through his morning routine of showering and getting dressed. The nice thing about it was that Dean could tune in to the station he wanted without having to see the bitch face or hear ‘Samantha’ whine about it. He was finished in record time and still Sam wasn’t back and the laptop was on the table where Angela left it the night before. Dean frowned and went to find his brother.

Dean made sure that the room was locked and the sign was on the knob to keep out housekeeping. He walked down the hall towards Angela’s room and pounded on the door, “Angie. You awake?”

When nothing responded, Dean pounded the door again. “Angie.”

Suddenly the door cracked open and Dean took a step back. Sam’s head peered around the door and he gave a puzzled frown, “Dean?”

Dean was speechless for a few minutes. It was Angela who brought him back to planet Earth. “You know they say that if you keep your face like that, it’ll freeze.” Angela offered a cup of coffee to Dean, “Coffee?”

Dean closed his hands around the cup and looked at her strangely, “Thanks.” He then looked at Sam who was frowning and then it changed into an annoyed look. “Sam you want to say something?”

“Oh get over yourself Dean,” Angela replied as she handed a coffee to Sam who took it after opening the door to let her in. She pushed her door open and walked in carrying a box of doughnuts and put them and her coffee on her table next to her open laptop. “Just an early start on the research. A little birdie told me someone doesn’t do mornings.” She glanced at Dean with a teasing smile before opening the box of doughnuts and offered it to Dean.

Sam just held his coffee and watched Angela work Dean over effectively stopping him from making any comments. He gave a slight twist of his head and took a sip of the coffee before going back to the laptop and going through the search engines.

****

Angela tapped the keys of her laptop with deliberate quietness while glancing over at Dean who was looking at her as if she were possessed. Sam was gone on a food run so it was just her and the big brother. She studied the files that filtered through from the archives. “Say whatever you have to Dean. Sam’s not here.”

That woke up Dean and he stood up and went into his interrogation mode, “Alright, so what was Sam doing in your room?”

“Shouldn’t you have asked him that?”

“Angie don’t play around. Can you answer the question?” Dean was staring daggers at Angela’s profile. As much as he wanted to rib his brother about getting it on with a girl, it was totally different thing when the girl was half human.

Angela didn’t look at Dean but did reply, “Well it is fun to get you riled up Dean but even I know when the limit has been reached. Nothing happened. I couldn’t sleep last night and I went for a walk. Sam found me in the common room and we talked for a while. We got sleepy and he joined me for tea. Of course I didn’t figure on him clonking out like he did. I put him on my bed and slept on the settee by the window. So don’t worry, your brother’s virtue is intact.”

Dean glanced over and saw a mussed up blanket and a pillow on the settee. It was small and he glanced over at Angela. She was no pixie and she managed to sleep on that? “You actually fit on that?”

Angela didn’t say a word but grinned slightly. “I’ve fit in tighter places Dean. That was luxury.” She then glanced at the screen. She smiled, “Yahtzee.”

At that moment, Sam came in with a bag of food. “Did I miss something?”

“I think I just found our ghosts,” Angela replied. She turned the laptop so that Winchesters could see what she had found. Time for the history lesson. “In 1853 there were two deaths that occurred in those barracks. Cadet Miles Fisk and Cadet Henry Lowe were found at the base of the stairs. Fisk had a sword through his gut and Lowe had a broken neck. Fisk’s sword was found upstairs and it was Lowe’s sword in Fisk’s gut.”

“So what a duel gone bad?” Dean asked while he dug into the bag of food and pulled out a cheeseburger. He looked at the other two and shrugged his shoulders and added, “They did have swords and if I’m not mistaken weren’t duels still fought back then. The whole honor crap?”

Angela nodded, “Exactly right however there is a unique tradition to the Point.”

“Hazing,” Sam supplied the answer.

“Yahtzee,” Angela pointed for emphasis. She then tapped the mouse pad and brought up the investigative report. “Amazing thing scanners. What I suspect happened was a special drill that Lowe had in mind for Fisk. Probably forming lines or something, it doesn’t matter. It probably went south and Fisk ends up with a blade in his stomach and in taking the plunge…”

“He ganks the other guy with him,” Dean finished while taking a bite. “Explains why we have two ghosts instead of one.”

“But it doesn’t explain why they can leave the places they haunt,” Sam added.

“Possibly we are dealing with a witch or a really stupid cadet,” Angela replied shrugging her shoulders. Her nose twitched at the smell of food. She could feel her stomach contract in hunger, aware that if she had to watch Dean chew anymore, she would snatch it out of his hand. _Curse my excessive need for food._ “Excuse me.” She then walked out of the room with a slam of the door and headed down to find something to eat.

Dean frowned as she left, “What’s her problem?”

Sam made a slight scoffing sound and smiled, “Dude, she’s hungry.”

Dean finished chewing the bite he had taken. “Why didn’t she grab a burger when you brought it in?”

“She did, Dean.” Sam smirked as he pulled his chair closer to the laptop and scrolled though Angela’s findings. “She just has a bigger appetite than you.”

 Dean finished chewing and swallowed. “With that body?”

“Mind out of the gutter.” Sam then paused before continuing, “It looks like the sightings have occurred every seventeen years.”

“What’s so special about that?”

Sam shrugged his shoulders until he found the answer. “Well it looks like Fisk was 17 when he died. So that explains it there. Every seventeen years like clockwork for about 150 years.”

“So we’re dealing with an old witch,” Dean confirmed after tossing what was left of the wrapper in the bag. “I hate witches.”

“A pretty good one. Dean all the sightings have been at that barracks. What if it is someone who probably hates being bullied and decided to use supernatural means of ending it? You said it yourself that Cadet Hickerson said the cadets that died in those accidents were dicks.”

Dean smiled as he followed through with what Sam was laying out, “Right. All except that Cadet Barcalow. According to her, the kid was devoted to becoming a soldier and would actually take the place of some of the others. So we more likely have a stupid cadet playing with fire.”

“Most likely.” Sam looked up at his brother, “So any ideas how to find out if it is a stupid cadet and which one?”

“Nothing at the moment,” Dean replied sitting down. He tried to find a way to ask without bringing on the bitch face. “Sam…”

“Nothing happened, Dean. We talked and I conked out. Next thing I know I wake up in bed and she’s asleep on the settee.” Sam studied his brother’s face. Better to let Dean mull over it before talking about it more.

****

Angela finished the huge platter she ordered with a ladylike grace even though she managed to pack away the whole thing. She certainly felt better and her energy would skyrocket soon. _Nightmare and the night’s excitement really drained me._ She sat for a few moments and finished the tea that came with it before paying the bill. _I hope they at least talked about this morning._

She was about to go back up to the room when her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID but didn’t recognize the number. Frowning slightly, she flipped it open and answered, “Hello.”

The voice on the other end had her frowning. She asked, “Are you sure he did? Why would he want to do that?”

The voice on the other end replied to her question causing her to frown. _Well it looks like our job just got harder._ She then said, “Alright. I’ll figure something out. I think I may have an idea. I’ll call you back later.” She then flipped her phone shut pausing to sneak a pastry from a display after subtly leaving the money for it. She munched on it as she headed back to the room.

****

It had gone too far. It was supposed to be a scare tactic to keep Derringer and the rest of those dicks off his back. Yet there were plenty of dicks at the academy and plenty grunts like him that needed looking after. It was his duty.

Cadet Thomas Parsons paced the inside of his room. He had maybe thirty minutes before his next class. He grabbed his books and hurried out of his room. He double timed it to the old chemistry building. There was his secret.

He made his way down to the basement to the closet. Slipping inside, he made sure no one was watching. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a lighter and lit it. He lit the candles that had been arranged there previously. He then began chanting in the language that he had been taught. A slight breeze flickered through the room and the lights flickered. He then said, “I have done as you have asked and they have arrived.”

The wind swirled again.

Parsons nodded, “Yes both of them. Along with her.”

The wind swirled even faster.

“Yes. Thank you for the gift.” Parsons nodded his head reverently. “Everything has been going as planned. It is exactly as you said. The spirits obey my will.”

The wind swirled. One of the candles burnt out.

“Yes. I will do as you ask.” Parsons then blew out the candles. Carefully easing out of the closet, he made sure that it looked as it did when he first discovered the place. It was his haven and the place where he received his gift. He glanced at the door where he carved the seal as he had been instructed to and muttered the incantation. Once it was done, he left the area and headed upstairs and out of the basement. He checked and started on a brisk walk towards his next class.

****

JoAnne checked to make sure the salt lines on the floor and windows were cleaned up. She didn’t want her roommate to freak out that she had spilt a condiment on the floor. She knew that her roommate wouldn’t understand even if she took the time to explain. At least her mother, or rather her family, managed to explain quite a bit.

She spent much of the night reading through the book that had been in the chest. It explained quite a bit and she understood why her parents used to stay out late at night while she was growing up. It surprised her that many of the things she thought were nothing more than tall tales and superstitions were actually quite real and for a moment she had been angry that her mother felt she had to keep it from her but in all fairness, she had to be thankful to her mother for at least giving her a normal life.

Right now the book was tucked among her textbooks in her shoulder bag. For some reason she felt compelled to take it with her wherever she went. She fingered the amulet that was around her neck before tucking it into her uniform. With a last look to make sure that nothing was out of place, she left her room to head to class.

She was halfway to the building when she noticed a cadet slinking away towards the basement. She immediately became curious about it and decided to follow. Maintaining a discreet distance, she followed the cadet into the basement of the chemistry building. JoAnne hesitated to go further, not sure if she should continue to follow or not. Following instinct, she followed.

She had nearly lost the cadet and wasted time searching. She was about to give up when she felt something tug within her. She followed it to a closet door that was slightly ajar. She peeked in and saw the cadet standing in front of something. She could make out the light of fire and figured that it was either a lighter or a candle. What disturbed her was that the language the cadet was speaking in was unknown and strange to her.

She recognized the voice of the cadet and she made a slight sad face as she listened. She had known that Parsons was having a hard time but for him to play with things that killed people? It took every inch of self-control she had to prevent herself from charging in there and strangling the guy for his stupidity. It occurred to her that whatever Parsons was doing probably got Barcalow in trouble and Barcalow was going to pay for it. The very idea of it pissed her off and what was worse, she knew that if she went to the colonel about her suspicions, he would think that she was nuts.

JoAnne listened as much as she could to the conversation that Parsons was having with his invisible friend before trying to find a place to hide. She watched as Parsons closed the door to his closet and said something over it. She held her breath to make sure she was not spotted until the coast was clear and then slipped out of her hiding spot. She walked up to the door and tried to open it but found that it wouldn’t budge.

Frowning, she examined the door to try and figure out why it was like it was glued shut. She touched the door and felt the wood. She scoured every inch until she came to the door knob. Running her fingers she could feel the etchings made by a crude tool. She peered at it and found some sort of seal. She had no idea what it was but she got the feeling that it was important.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she pulled out her cell phone and took a picture of the seal. She saved the image and headed back up the stairs and out of the basement. She had to go to class but she had a free moment afterwards. Questions had to be answered.


	8. Chapter 8

“Come on Dave there must be something you remember that night.” JoAnne was well aware that she sounded like she was begging. Yet she was desperate. If she could find a clue as to what the symbol and what happened the night that Barcalow was found covered in blood.

“I told them everything, even those CID agents. I really did Jo.” Barcalow looked like he was at the end of his rope. “The only reason I didn’t off myself or anything is because that one agent said she believed me.” Barcalow swallowed a bit and continued, aware that he was a pitiful fool that was babbling. “Even her partner believed me.”

“That’s good Dave,” JoAnne replied, trying to be reassuring, “They are good at what they do.”

“I surely hope so Jo. Being in here, not knowing what to do, it’s killing me. Why am I being punished for taking Olson’s drill?”

“Olson was getting a special drill?” JoAnne asked.

“Yeah but I convinced Derringer to let me take it but the bastard put someone else in charge.” Barcalow frowned a bit trying to remember. It then came to him with sudden clarity. “Pierson was the one that took over.”

“Why didn’t you tell CID or Col Henderson?”

“Come on Jo. Special drills are a tradition here at the Point. As long as a blind eye is turned, it goes on. Even the enlisted guys go through it in boot,” Barcalow replied looking at JoAnne as if she were nuts. “Besides what would CID be able to do? The Point keeps a hush on things like that especially if it involves deaths of cadets. Why do you think the archives are restricted?”

 _And I just gave access to CID or whatever that bizarre trio was._ JoAnne sighed as she looked at Barcalow. She replied in a low voice after glancing around to make sure she wouldn’t be overheard, “Dave those CID agents know who did it. They just need some details, the kind the Point would keep under wraps.”

Barcalow’s eyes widened slightly at the realization of what she was implying. “You didn’t, did you Jo?”

JoAnne gave a slight nod. “Dave, this may be hard to accept but there are things out there that most normal folks would chalk up to being nothing more than horror stories and cheap horror flicks.” She paused slightly to take a breath before continuing, “Dave what you saw was a ghost and they are real.”

Barcalow tried hard not to laugh. He knew Jo wouldn’t do anything to humiliate him but this felt like it was too much. He replied, “Great I made a crazy out of you too Jo.”

“Dave I mean it,” JoAnne replied in a low firm voice. She glanced around again before saying, “I saw it too.” When Barcalow stopped laughing and he got a serious expression on his face, she continued, “I went to the barracks to try and find evidence to clear you and I saw it. That agent that interviewed you came in and shot it and it disappeared.”

“You aren’t kidding are you Jo?”

“No Dave. I believe you and I think I know who is behind it but I have to get the information to the CID agents.”

“How are you going to do that?” Barcalow replied, “I overheard the guards say that the colonel called CID headquarters and said that he didn’t need their agents anymore.”

 _Dammit Uncle Ted! What were you thinking? You saw them!_ JoAnne let out a frustrated sigh, “There must be something. I can try calling them but you know…” JoAnne made a slight gesture. Ever since the World Trade Center, Homeland Security has been very tight about communications.

Barcalow nodded in complete understanding. He and JoAnne had a better grasp of intricacies and both were known for coming up with ideas for the impossible. He also knew that she would stick up for the cadets being given special drills so it made no sense for the ghost to be after her. He then had an idea. “You could go and warn them.”

“How Dave? I mean we really aren’t supposed to leave the grounds now with everything going on,” JoAnne replied. She watched as Barcalow’s face curved into a sly smile and she caught on to what he was thinking of. “You mean…”

“Exactly. You’re the best at it and the guards won’t question it,” Barcalow replied with encouragement.

“If I’m caught, not even the colonel can protect me,” JoAnne replied.

“I know but it would prevent more cadets’ deaths. Even though someone may be a dick, that doesn’t mean they should be murdered.”

JoAnne smiled at Barcalow and replied, “You should have gone to law school. Then JAG.”

Barcalow gave a snort. “No way Jo. I’m just an average student with a penchant for shooting things.” He chuckled before adding, “So you need help figuring out how you’re…”

JoAnne smiled, “I think I have a way Dave. Just sit tight and this thing will be over. Trust me.”

“Always did and still do Jo.”

JoAnne looked at Barcalow as he gave her a smile. To her, it seemed that he always reserved that smile just for her. He was polite to the other female cadets but it was different when the two of them were together. She reached across the table and grasped one of his hands in reassurance. “Thanks Dave.” She then got up and signaled to the guard that she was finished. She gave one last glance at Barcalow before leaving to put the plan he suggested in motion.

Barcalow stayed in his seat and was surprised that the guard announced that he had another visitor. Since he had been apprehended, he had been reluctant to see his fellow cadets outside of the investigators. Jo he made the exception for. However since he had another visitor, he might as well see who it is. It might stave off the boredom that would accompany him back to his cell.

Barcalow watched as the guard opened the door to let in his next visitor. His eyes opened slightly in shock as his fellow cadet walked in. He waited until the guard left before saying, “This is certainly a surprise, Tom.”

Parsons took his seat across from Barcalow and gave a slight smile. He said, “I just had to visit the cadet who had always stood up for me. I just want you to know that I don’t believe a word of the charges.”

Barcalow frowned slightly as he studied the cadet in front of him. Parsons was a year under him at the Point and it always seemed that the poor kid was getting picked on by one cadet or the other. Barcalow remembered a few times when he used his status to get the upperclassmen off the kid’s back especially when he thought the normal drill went too far. Other times he used his connections to get his friends to keep certain known bullies off his back. He thought that Parsons had potential but the kid needed to toughen up a bit too. While Barcalow didn’t believe in bullying, he thought that at times Parsons was a bit of a pansy. He replied, “Thanks Parsons. I honestly thought you wouldn’t give a crap.”

Parsons smiled, “Oh but I do. You see I dislike it when innocent people are accused of a crime and then take the punishment. It’s just wrong.”

“That’s why we have our court system. Innocent until proven guilty.”

“True but what good is that. An apology doesn’t wipe away the memories of being incarcerated or mistreatment.”

Barcalow narrowed his eyes slightly, not sure where this was heading. He didn’t know Parsons well enough to engage in conversation like he would with Jo and instinct was telling him to tread carefully. He replied, “Yet there are always the good memories Parsons. Memories of good people and the like.”

“That is true,” Parsons agreed. He really didn’t want to so this but the orders were clear. This would be the last one and he would be free and no one would bother him or any other underclassmen again. Screw the traditions. “Yet life would be so much pleasanter without stupid traditions dictating everybody’s actions.”

Barcalow eyed Parsons suspiciously. Jo said that she had an idea that it was a who more than a what that was killing the dicks. He wondered if Parsons had anything to do with it. If he did then he was seriously playing around with things that he shouldn’t. Yet he couldn’t let Parsons know about his suspicions until he was sure. He replied, “Tradition is not necessarily a bad thing. There are some good things about the Point.”

Parsons shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe. Some though should be done away with once and for all.” He then looked downward as if to think about what he had said. He had to do it. It was now or never. He then said, “Someone like you could make sure that things are what the sales pitch says. After all you are the golden boy of the Point.”

Barcalow looked at Parsons as if he were crazy. Something was definitely off about Parsons and every instinct was telling him to be wary. That he should play dumb and let the plan reveal itself. He replied, “Not so much anymore.”

“That might change since CID is here,” Parsons replied. “After all they are pretty much outsiders and would probably stick their noses in places that would piss off the colonel. You’ll be out in no time.”

“Sure,” Barcalow replied. He thought about what to do to get Parsons away. He glanced at the clock on the wall. An idea came and hoped that the kid would take the hint. “Hey don’t you have a class coming up Parsons?”

Parsons nodded. He had done what he had come to do. He stood up and said, “You’re right. I better get going otherwise I’ll get hanged.” He gave a slight smile before signaling the guard. “Don’t worry Barcalow. Things are going to get better.”

Barcalow watched as Parsons was let out of the room. It wouldn’t be long before he would be led back to his cell. He definitely knew something was up with Parsons. It was just the way he said his piece to him. Barcalow sighed and he prayed that Jo would manage to get to those CID agents. He had a feeling that they really weren’t with CID but at this point, he was willing to accept any explanation that would help. As soon as the guard came in, he followed suit. He had no choice but to wait.

****

JoAnne walked through the village with her baseball cap pulled low over her head. Her uniform was packed in her book bag, an added insurance since she needed to be in uniform to get past the gates and out into the village. She couldn’t believe though that she managed to get authorization by faking her uncle’s signature. Well she had done it before in grade school but this was a different thing all together.

The village looked a lot different during the day than it did during the night. Then again she wasn’t paying attention since she had been lugging an unconscious guy up the stairs and into a room in the hotel. She blushed when she recalled the doorman’s lecherous look at her and that female agent who made carrying the Sasquatch look like he was nothing more than a doll or something. It faded as she approached the center of the village with her bag over her shoulder.

The café seemed liked a good place to start since it was near the lunch hour and when she checked with the clerk at the hotel to call up to the room she was in last night, no one answered. She wandered in and looked around. It was unavoidable to be greeted by the seating hostess so she let the woman lead her to a table. It would give her a chance to make a plan in tracking down the agents. Since it was stupid to just sit there with nothing, she ordered water and a small salad and pulled out a notebook and made notes about what David had told her, and what she saw and what she read from her mother’s book.

Taking careful observations was one of the talents JoAnne was very good at. It singled her out for attention when it came to the firing range as well as participating in the required summer camps. She judged that maybe an hour would be enough to go back and call up to the room again so she pored over her notes but her thoughts were interrupted by what she found when she followed Parsons to that basement room. She knew that it would interest the agents or whatever the hell they were and in truth, after her late night reading, she wanted to know more too.

After an hour passed, she went back to the hotel to try and call up again. Again there was no answer and she wondered if they had checked out. A quick check with the clerk revealed that they had not checked out yet do it was some measure of relief. Yet she couldn’t figure out for the life of her where they might have gone. She thanked the clerk and stepped outside the hotel and debated on calling her mother and asking for help. _Mom does know a thing or two and so does Dad._ Deciding to take the plunge, she fished out her cell phone and dialed the familiar number. When she heard the familiar voice, she said, “Hey Mom, can I talk to you about… something?”

Eleanor Hickerson knew when trouble followed her daughter or if something was bothering her. She could hear it the moment she picked up the phone and asked who it was. She replied to her daughter, “Jo, is something the matter?”

_Well… I don’t know if it is a problem yet._

“JoAnne Dana Hickerson, are them cadet boys giving you any trouble?” Eleanor gave her warning voice, the slight Southern twang becoming evident. “Is that brother of mine letting them get away with those pointless traditions?”

_Nothing like that Mom and before you ask, the answer is no. This is more like what you and Dad do… the family business._

Eleanor paused and closed her eyes as she took a breath. As much as she had wanted to share the life she and George lived with her daughter, she knew she couldn’t do it. That world was mean, nasty and full of the things that people thought were nothing more than fairy tales. She and George decided to raise their daughter outside that world and it worked to some degree. When JoAnne left to go to the Point, Eleanor couldn’t resist giving her the box that held the Henderson legacy but she prayed that JoAnne would never have to open it. Knowing that JoAnne was waiting, she replied, “What happened?”

_Cadets have been turning up dead in accidents with holes in their stomachs. Dave has been accused of murder but he didn’t do it Mom. I… I saw a ghost._

“Calm down Jo,” Eleanor’s voice changed to the timbre she used when her daughter used to be afraid of the dark. “Okay now you saw the ghost. Where and what happened?”

_I went back to Dave’s barracks to try to find evidence to convince Uncle Ted to let him go. Then it appears and asks the question why and tries to come after me. Then this CID agent, though I am sure she’s not one, came in and shot the thing and it disappeared._

Eleanor listened to her daughter’s concise report. _Must be another hunter._ She was curious about the help her daughter received. She asked, “Was it a hunter?”

_She knew her stuff. Iron rounds and salt lines. She even explained what echoes were. Uncle Ted was…_

“Say no more about your uncle. Anything else?”

_Well the thing was, the ghosts chased us from the barracks to the security wing. The CID agent said that ghosts are tied to the places that they died but they just came. She told me they had to get off campus and she had friends to help._

Eleanor realized that what her daughter was saying was that these ghosts were not traditional hauntings. Salt and burns wouldn’t stop it. “So there were three of them?”

_Her and two brothers. The eldest I gave a beating but only because he startled me and his brother was a Sasquatch. The giant was called Sam and the other Dean and the agent was Angela._

_So you found partners again_ , Eleanor mused. A smell caught her attention and she went back to mixing the potion she was working on for a job. The girl she knew well. The details about the boys sounded familiar. She kept feelers out on hunters and the jobs they did. There was one particularly nasty job in Chicago a couple of months back. Vampires from the sound of it and she poked her nose into it. Her sources told her that two hunters, brothers were involved along with two members of the ancient order. She asked, “Did they say why they were there?”

_They were investigating the accidents and Derringer’s deaths. The giant mentioned something about getting access to the archives. I gave it to them and left. That Angela girl gave me a bag of salt and told me to be careful. She sounded like you Mom._

“She would Jo. Angela is a very old friend of your father’s. We met on a job in Atlanta in an old warehouse district. If anything she’s the one semi running the show. I’m glad it was her and not some other hunter.”

_I’m glad too. Right now I stumbled onto something that may help them out but I can’t find them. I heard and confirmed Uncle Ted called CID to have them pulled out. Thing is they haven’t checked out so I am guessing they are still somewhere around the village._

“Isn’t campus on lockdown?”

_Dave gave me the idea. I got around it. Mom, I think a cadet is messing around with things that are not good. Dean mentioned something about a witch._

Eleanor turned the stove off and continued to stir her concoction. She replied, “Witches normally have the power required but just about anyone who knows what they are doing can bring back a spirit at will and make them kill. Thing is that’s a bad thing.”

_How so Mom?_

“Believe it or not spirits are sensitive beings. To make them do something against their nature is a sure way to piss them off. The idiot who brought them back, he’s pretty much dead meat if he doesn’t know how to reverse the ritual.”

_Anything in the book that could do that?_

“If it is a witch, just putting a bullet in them would do the trick. The book has some ideas but you have to get the details right about who may be controlling them. One thing wrong and the whole thing can blow up in your face.”

_Thanks Mom. I better go and see if I can find them. I found a few things when I trailed a suspect._

Eleanor couldn’t resist a smile. Her daughter should have been a cop but she wanted the military. She knew her daughter would find her place no matter where she went. Of that she was confident. She was concerned however. Jo could take care of herself certainly but she was relatively new to the world that she met head on last night. She could easily get herself killed and that would be… At least Angela was there and those two boys she was teaming up with. She replied, “Just be careful Jo. You are new to this.”

JoAnne gave a slight smile when she heard her mother warn her to be careful. She knew she wasn’t going to go the whole nine yards on this since she was still having some difficulties accepting everything. Yet the conversation with her mother helped. She replied, “I will Mom. Maybe I could do some of this on the side. Army may need an… inside man.”

_Maybe Jo. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now you need to figure out what you and those hunters will be up against._

“I will Mom. Tell Dad I said hi and that I miss him.”

_I will Jo. I love you._

“Love you too Mom,” JoAnne replied and clicked the button to end the call. She looked around at the streets of the village. _How hard is it to find three people, one of them being a giant of man?_

JoAnne started walking so she wouldn’t look completely out of place. She started mulling over particular places she would find the trio. Then it occurred to her that she had access to the archives and she could do a search. Perhaps she might be able to get a hint of where they might have gone. She really didn’t want to go back to the café but there were waiting areas in the hotel. She could go there and do a search. She double backed and headed back to the hotel.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she found an empty chair and a table near a window. Placing the coffee she had just bought on the table beside her, she opened her laptop and immediately started accessing everything she could get her hands on regarding any cadets dying at the Point. She got a ton of information and saw that she was going to have to get smart about her search terms. She sat back and thought for a moment.

She could remember the look of the uniform clearly. Even though the ghost was rather bloody and there was a huge hole in his middle, she remembered certain details. She hoped it was enough to help her look for the right uniform. The Point utilized a similar style and she was hoping to look through the archive photos. That should narrow down a time frame but then she thought about the wound the ghost had. That was a better way to go.

She keyed in the type of injuries the ghost had and came up with the investigative reports about a Cadet Fisk and a Cadet Lowe dying in those barracks. She read through all of them in detail and read between the lines to find that it was a result of a special drill. She was amazed at the lengths the Point would go to in order to keep its reputation. Then again there was the unspoken rule about loyalty and the like. JoAnne believed in it herself. Of course there was the code on a cadet’s honor. That was something that would have to be worked out should she be able to prove it was Parsons doing the killings.

She continued the search to try and find out if the cadets had been buried at the West Point cemetery.  That would be the logical place to start and she got the feeling that it might help those hunters as her mother called them. She was so engrossed in her task that she failed to notice the three people she had been waiting for were leaving the hotel. They passed her and headed out to the village.


	9. Chapter 9

Barcalow sat in his cell looking at nothing in particular feeling anxious about Jo. He had confidence that she could get off the grounds but he had this feeling of dread and unease ever since Parsons came by. He went over that night again and again in his mind trying to see if he could come up with something, anything that he could use to call back the CID agent and her partner.  It was useless though and he sat on the bed and leaned against the wall. Checking the clock, he saw that it was late in the afternoon, roughly fifteen hundred hours. It was going to be a long wait.

Suddenly there was a loud noise and a yelping of someone. Barcalow stood up and tried to peer through the bars to take a look. His view was obstructed but he could hear screams of pain and other things. He was not sure of what to do next. He was prevented from doing anything when something slammed into the bars and forced him back so that he landed on the ground. Looking up he saw…

****

Parsons managed to skip out on the rest of his classes feigning something important and rushed back to his spot. He summoned the entity and said, “The rumors are true. The colonel gave the order for the CID agents to leave.”

The wind began to swirl as he listened. “No they haven’t gone. I called around the village. They are still here.”

The wind swirled angrily around Parsons. He listened to it, trying not to let the fear creep in. he replied, “Yes they are probably at the cemetery to learn the location. Then they would burn the remains tonight.”

More wind swirled. “So we continue as planned?”

The wind swirled and there was a slight bubbling sound. “Yes. I set you free and you will have a body at long last.”

With the change in the wind, Parsons became confused. “Me? I am a servant. I…”

The next thing Parsons was aware of was that he was inside the security building, making his way through towards the holding area. He saw himself doing… horrible things to people and yet, he rather liked it. Most of the people in there were dicks. They didn’t care even if he did stick it out with all the traditions of the Point.

He saw men and women flying across the room. Office supplies went flying as they stabbed the hapless personnel. He worked his way to where the holding cells were. The guards were no trouble. One slice and the blood was spattered on the doors and walls. He walked in and went to the cell he wanted. There he was on the ground looking at him with a bewildered expression on his face.

“Parsons?”

He didn’t say anything but swooped down to grab the one he came for. He was amused when he fought back.  Parsons took pleasure in watching the hapless prisoner shrink back in pain after punching him in the face. It had hurt but not as much as what he was going to give. He brought back his fist and gave a swing.

****

Barcalow felt like his head was pounding and briefly wondered if he had been on a drinking binge at Benny Haven’s. Heck the last time that happened, Jo gave him a telling off that included him making innuendos at her. Of course that resulted in her giving him a good ass kicking and a tongue lashing. Since then he had been careful about his drinking. Usually it was one beer, maybe two and then he called it quits.

Barcalow grinned at the thought. Jo always was there to pull him out of a tough jam. He handled most problems himself like the special drills and occasional study sessions. Stuff like what he was in trouble for, Jo had his back. He had never met another girl like her and would find reasons to hang out with her, usually to study. Cheap attempts at being near her but she never complained and would in fact drop by just to hang out on her breaks.

Looking around, Barcalow saw that he was in some sort of basement area. There were a ton of pipes running through the place and it was pretty humid. Barcalow surmised that he might be in one of the basements of one of the buildings. They were like furnaces especially with the water heaters in there. Barcalow tried to shift but found that his hands were tied behind him and around a pole. His legs were free but that wasn’t going to do him any good. He sat there trying to shake the sweat that was forming from his head. He looked around trying to get a sense of where he might be on campus but realized it was futile since his voice couldn’t be heard easily.

A noise then caught his attention and Barcalow turned to see the cause of it. Parsons was ambling towards him, carrying a rather large box. Barcalow looked at Parsons’ face. Something wasn’t right about the cadet. He caught the first glimpses when he entered the holding area and now in a face to face confrontation, he could see something was off about Parsons. He asked, “What’s this about Parsons? Are you pissed at me for not going to Command about the special drills?”

Parsons turned around to look at his prize. Barcalow thought the light was playing tricks on him but he thought there was something off about Parson’s eyes. They glittered a slight yellowish brown before reverting to the natural coloring of dark brown. Barcalow maintained his composure while Parsons approached him. Parsons was looking at him with a feral grin and he replied, “Now why would I be pissed Barcalow. You are an honorable man. That kind is rare at the Point.”

“Then why take me? I can be accused of escaping. Being a fugitive is not what I want,” Barcalow replied. He struggled against his bindings.

Parsons gazed at the cadet on the ground. He had made sure the bindings were secure. He replied, “After this last one, it will not matter. Everything will be set in motion.”

“What are you talking about?”

Barcalow’s question was ignored for the most part as Parsons turned to check that everything was in the box. Barcalow continued to struggle and felt the burning on his wrists. He then said, “Fine don’t say anything. Sooner or later someone is going to figure out what you did. Like CID.”

That caught Parsons’ attention. He turned and replied and gave a laugh full of mirth, “You really think those were real CID? Not on your life Cadet.”

“They had badges and knew the lingo.”

“A requirement in their line of work and a useful talent though it is wasted on their kind. Still it is a treat that she came.”

Barcalow frowned. He had no idea what Parsons was talking about. As far as he knew CID was here and yet he was saying they weren’t. It didn’t make sense since Col Henderson didn’t allow just anybody onto the grounds. And what was this about a girl? Was Parsons referring to Jo? If that was the case, he had to do something. He had to warn Jo but he had to be sure. He ventured, “Look leave Hickerson out of it. You know she despises special drills as much as I do.”

Parsons turned and the glittering eyes returned, “This has nothing to do with your special drills stupid cadet. Though the girl would make a nice addition.” Parsons appeared to look deep in thought as if to contemplate possibilities. He then turned to go back to what he was doing. He added, “She would make a nice addition but we must stick with the plan.”

“Does that plan involve killing cadets are guilty of nothing except being dicks?”

“That was a bonus and a necessity. Raising spirits is child’s play. Controlling them is the fun part.”

At that moment, two ghosts appeared. Barcalow recognized one of them as the one that appeared in his room the night he found Derringer dead. He looked on in awe, taking in the detail and noticed that the ghost was missing a button on his uniform. That was strange. Barcalow glanced at the ghost. It gave him a sad gaze as if to apologize for his predicament. The other one with him was looking at him with scorn. Barcalow ventured, “Why control them?”

Parsons looked at Barcalow as if he were an idiot. He then said, “In order to convince the hunters that there is a legitimate haunting.” Parsons then walked up to Barcalow with a rag in his hand. With a deft movement, he tied the rag around Barcalow’s mouth in order to keep him quiet.

Barcalow felt the rolled up cloth being forced between his teeth. It was thick enough to keep his mouth open and effectively prevent him from making coherent sounds. He spat through the cloth, “Parsons this isn’t funny!”

Parsons finished tying the knot. He let his eyes flicker to the true eyes and he grabbed Barcalow’s chin in a firm grip. Barcalow winced slightly when he felt the iron grip of Parsons. He looked up into the face of Parsons as he said, “Parsons is long gone. Once this ritual is complete, he will be gone permanently and I will walk the earth once again.”

Barcalow mumbled, “You’re crazy.”

Parsons laughed. He continued smiling before delivering a punch that effectively knocked Barcalow unconscious. Parsons peered at Barcalow with a curious expression before giving a gentle pat on the cheek. He then said, “Don’t worry Cadet Barcalow. You are a part of something special. As I said before, men with honor such as yours is really quite hard to find.”

Parsons stood up and looked at the two spirits. His gaze hardened as he saw them. The weak one looked like he was going to beg to be set free. The other looked eager to accept orders. He spoke in firm tones, “Get to the cemetery. Take care of the hunters. You need to protect your remains. It would be a shame if something happened to them.”

Nothing would happen if the remains were burned. They were bound by his spell and could only be released by his say so. Still it was an effective measure to keep the more violent one under control. The other was bowed under the pressure. Parsons repeated, “Take care of the hunters. Kill them.”

The one missing a button gave a sad look but the other lit up with a grin that belied his pleasure at the prospect. They disappeared leaving Parsons alone once more with the unconscious cadet. Parsons looked at his prisoner once more before picking up a bag and walking towards the door at the far side. He had a prize to catch and knew just where to find it.

****

JoAnne had waited long enough for them to come back but there was no sign of them. She debated internally what to do next with the answer laid out in front of her. The screen her laptop had up was the main page for the cemetery for West Point. Looking at it, JoAnne realized that maybe she should take the initiative and try to find them in the most likely places. Her mother’s book said something about looking for the remains of spirits and salting and burning them to put them to rest. Maybe they went to the cemetery.

Decided upon her course of action, she packed up her gear and walked out of the hotel lobby. Having taken a tour of the academy grounds and the surrounding village, she knew in which direction the cemetery was and headed there. She made sure that her ball cap was pulled low and her coat collar turned up to avoid bumping into other cadets who decided to sneak out or wandering faculty. It also helped to avoid detection from the merchant owners that knew her.

It didn’t take long to get to the cemetery. The bad thing was there were some people there and from the looks of things, tourists. JoAnne knew that there were people who just plain liked visiting where the dead were buried. They saw the aged tombstones as works of art and full of history. She just found that downright creepy. On the other hand, she got the feeling that her mom and dad traversed cemeteries frequently doing whatever they did to protect the rest of the unsuspecting people from the other things. There was a lot she had to learn about her mom’s world and for a moment she wondered if she was out of her league trying to find those hunters. She then thought of David sitting in the holding cell and her resolve became stronger along with a possible thought.

The easiest solution was to speak to the curator in the main office. However JoAnne got the feeling that if she were to try to explain when she needed access to the records, she might be regarded as a crazy and she had enough crazy to deal with. Still if she got a general idea of the layout of the place, she might get lucky. She went to the main office to find no one was in but the door was unlocked. Deciding to chance it, she snuck in and began a systematic search, looking for a map or something.

It was tempting to go through the ledgers that kept a record of the plots an one that JoAnne gave into. It took the bulk of her time but she finally managed to get a lot location of the two cadets that she had read about from her search. She was pretty sure that those CID/hunters had a good idea where to look but she had the specific plots, just in case. Finding a scrap of paper, she jotted down the numbers and tucked it into her jacket pocket. She was just closing the ledger when she heard footsteps in the hall. She quickly put the ledger back into its place on the shelves and ran to look like she had been waiting. She had barely made it in when the curator entered and demanded to know why she was there.

JoAnne thought quick and replied, “I’m just visiting the plot of a relative of mine. I have the number but I am not sure of the layout of the cemetery. Do you happen to have a map that I could follow?” She gave a wistful look to sell her story hoping that her bluff wouldn’t be called.

It worked for the curator gave a wistful smile and offered her a map of the grounds. JoAnne laid the thanks on thick, acting like a grateful person and made a hasty exit. Once outside she dropped the façade and walked out of the main building. Now she had to find the plots.

The best point of reference was to start with the Old Cadet Chapel. Being one to appreciate fine architecture, JoAnne couldn’t help but pause to admire the architecture, the Greek Revival style that was popular during the 1830s. Dave always teased her and said that she should have gone to art school instead of the Point since she always knew something or other about the architecture styles. After drooling for a little bit, she decided to head to the Cadet Monument in the northeast corner just to see if they really did die. Cadets who died at the Point had their names erected on the monument. Another tradition when a cadet was killed in 1817 due to a premature cannon discharge.

Certainly it was worth taking the time to go about and appreciate the history but at the moment, JoAnne was in a hurry. Glancing at the sky, the day was starting fade and she needed to get moving. She pulled out the scrap of paper and read the plot numbers. She found it rather ironic that the dick and the cadet were buried side by side but then again when you’re in the military, the man next to you is your lifeline. You watch his back and he watches yours. She then made her way through the pathways trying to find what she was looking for. One of the letters in the designation was strange to her as she walked around. She finally found what she was looking for when she paused by one of the more famous West Pointer graves. It was a mausoleum. JoAnne frowned slightly at that as she headed towards the part of the cemetery where it was located.

It was a welcome sight to see the familiar black shape of the Impala parked but there were no signs of any of the three hunters. She turned and couldn’t see any mausoleums in sight. In fact it was getting down right creepy and it was still daylight was enough to spur her on. She glanced down at the numbers and found the right area and jogged forward, keeping an eye on the numbers. Suddenly she felt a chill. Stopping she looked around and noticed that her breaths were coming out in a fogs. The spirits were here.

A grunting noise caught JoAnne’s attention. It was decidedly feminine it was followed by a shotgun blast. JoAnne ran towards the noise. From behind one of the headstones, she could see that female CID agent Angela holding a shotgun rifle while trying to get to what looked like two open graves. On the ground was one of her friends, the big yeti and he was out cold and there was a nasty gash from where his head hit one of the tombstones.

JoAnne knew that she probably shouldn’t be out here but then again they looked like they needed help. She crept slowly to where the yeti was lying unconscious and looked around for something that could be used as a weapon. She found a sawed off shotgun and a lighter and took both. _Okay let’s see if reading mom’s book stuck in my brain._

****

Angela thought this was a bad idea but ever since she relayed the news to Sam and Dean about the colonel calling her contact to get them off campus, she was willing to follow any lead. She personally wasn’t going to leave until the job was done even if she had to sneak around and risk getting thrown in the brig. Either way it will get done. It didn’t surprise her as much when the boys said they were staying as well. She rather expected it of them since she knew that it bugged Dean quite a bit to leave a job unfinished and Sam, well he was never one to do anything halfway either.

They had heard on the scanner that someone had went postal in the detention area and decided to check into it to see if there was any connection between the sightings, the murders and the possibility of someone pulling the ghost’s strings. It was Dean who said that he would go to the detention area since he was the only one that hadn’t questioned the prisoner. Angela and Sam would go to the cemetery and salt and burn the remains just in case it was just a routine haunting. It surprised Angela when Dean handed her the keys to the Impala and told her to drive.

She and Sam managed to make it to the cemetery but she didn’t like the idea of doing it in the middle of the day. Normally she did this stuff at night but as Dean pointed out, it was late in the day and by the time they were done, it would be dark. Dean logic but it worked to some degree and she agreed. To keep her mind off if, she took the shovel and started digging at a fast pace that had Sam looking at her as if she were possessed. As a joke he said, “Christo.”

Her response was a glare as she continued to dig. She dug the first grave and then handed the shovel to Sam to dig the second. He had finished and was pouring salt on the remains when the ghosts appeared. The ghost of Fisk looked sad and haggard as he grabbed Sam and threw him into a nearby tree. The other one Lowe appeared in front of her and she pulled off a shotgun round.

Sam had managed to get back on his feet and try to get to the gravesites to light the remains. He was almost there when Lowe appeared and grabbed Sam and rammed him into a headstone knocking him unconscious. Lowe then disappeared and reappeared in front of Angela to take her out. She pointed the shot gun at the ghost and fired. It disappeared in a wisp of air and a cloud of salt. Suddenly there was no one there.

Angela turned around holding the shotgun ready to fire. The spirits were still around and she could feel it. Suddenly something turned on. Angela looked and saw that it was a bulldozer tractor and it was unmanned. It started heading towards her. _Crap._

She took off running and the tractor followed. It was bad enough dealing with ghosts but to deal with ghost possessed objects? That was another story and one too many for Angela as she ran to keep from being run over. She finally made the tractor crash into a nearby tree and sprinted back to the graves with her own lighter lit. Suddenly she felt herself being flung through the air and her back hit a grave marker. The ghost of Lowe appeared and he was smiling saying, “I have a very special drill for you.”

Angela felt her head had gone on a drinking bender with the poison she chose when she wanted to get drunk. She looked up to see the familiar silhouette of the spirit as it loomed over her. Idly she groped around for her shotgun while trying to clear her vision. Suddenly a loud noise boomed and the spirit was gone.

A shot rang out and JoAnne was stunned that she had managed to hit the thing. She watched it disappear like mist. Suddenly another appeared and it was Fisk. He tried to say something but he couldn’t and it came out in a gargle. Lowe then reappeared and backhanded JoAnne but she never lost her grip on her weapon.

It was an ironclad rule that first Uncle Ted and then the Point taught her about her weapon and it wasn’t the one that required the safety be on at all times. It was the one where her weapon was an extension of her. A good soldier never puts down their weapon for anything though JoAnne was certain that Uncle Ted had been hanging around his cop friends too much. Still it was a solid principle and she applied it to other important things.

She never thought she would experience being fully winded though she had been hit hard before in combat training and she had two younger brothers in college who taught her how to take a hit. Still it was painful and JoAnne was lucky that she didn’t break anything. She did have some idea how the yeti and Angela felt. She pushed herself up just as Lowe appeared. She swung the shotgun she took at it and fired leaving Fisk.

Suddenly Fisk’s voice came through. It sounded scratchy as if he hadn’t used it in years. He said, “Get out. Leave!”

JoAnne paused and asked, “Why?”

Fisk looked sadly at her. “He wants out.”

“Who wants out?”

“He wants out.” Fisk then paused and said, “I’m sorry.”

It was unexpected when JoAnne felt the backhand from the Lowe ghost. It felt like someone hit her with the flat end of a 2x4. Her vision became blurry as it started to fade. Out of desperation she pointed the shotgun and fired but missed completely as she slipped into unconsciousness. The next thing she knew was that she hearing a shotgun being fired, loud thump and a familiar voice saying to bring her along.

Angela in the meantime managed to get to her feet. She cocked her shotgun and went after the ghosts. She saw Lowe hit the cadet girl from yesterday from behind and go down. Springing forward, she launched over headstones with her shotgun raised. She barely evaded the shot that the girl pulled off in desperation.  Her own shot got the Fisk ghost but not Lowe.

“Interesting,” a new voice entered as a person appeared from behind a tree. The voice added, “Sorry but you won’t be salting them this time.”

Angela took in the new person and saw that it was a cadet… at least she thought it was. She had never seen the student before so she couldn’t be sure. However it did confirm her suspicion that someone was summoning the spirits judging by the way the cadet moved his hand and the ghosts reappeared.

The next thing that happened Angela found herself being knocked into one of the open graves with enough force to knock her out. She didn’t feel the earth being dumped on her by the tractor nor hear the cadet saying to bring the girl and the other.


	10. Chapter 10

Dean was used to playing the role of a federal agent. He could saunter in like he owned the place and get the information he needed from anyone. Sam was the one who could get a stone to bleed with the puppy dog eyes but given that they were hardly in the place to do that, it seemed like a good idea that he would go it alone while Sam and Angela went to burn the remains just in case. His other reason was that he wanted to give a piece of his mind to that dick of a colonel.

When Angela finally got back from her impromptu lunch break, she revealed that her friend at CID called saying that the dick colonel wanted them out. At first, Dean thought Angela was going to follow through and leave but she said that she was staying since she knew the campus back and front. Hearing that, Dean was adamant about staying even though she gave them a way out. Sam agreed to stay as well.

They re-entered the grounds with Angela driving the Impala much to Sam’s surprise and the bitch face was included. What could Dean say? Angela knew her cars and she did take good care of her in Chicago. She dropped him off at the detention center and headed off towards the cemetery.

Dean walked through the front door making sure his visitor pass was in full view and showed his CID badge when it was required of him. Most of the people in there were taking samples from just about everywhere. Dean tried hard not to gag at the sight.

The scanner said that there had been at least twenty or so people in there. To Dean, he thought there had to at least have been half a dozen more than that given the amount of human goo there was everywhere. Dean could hardly believe that the human body could produce that much blood and guts as he gingerly stepped around the puddles, trying not to get it all over his shoes.

There was a reporting officer writing in his notebook so Dean approached him first. He asked, “So any ideas what happened here?”

The officer looked at him with a questioning looking. Dean pulled out his CID badge and flipped it open. Since it was real, he allowed the officer to get a good look before flipping it closed. The officer gave a slight nod before replying, “Initially we think someone decided to go postal.”

“Any idea why?”

“Who knows for sure? Probably some cadet who cracked under the pressure and decided to take it out on someone with authority.”

“This seems a little extreme don’t you think?” Dean asked while indicating to the carnage. “I mean completely exploding human bodies, that seems near impossible don’t you think?”

“Maybe sir but the academy does have a one of the best science departments.”

Dean tried not to make a face at that. “Right. So any suspects?”

The officer continued writing as he spoke, “We have a security camera system. If we’re lucky we may catch him.”

“Mind if I take a look?”

The officer waved over to the security room. “Be my guest.”

Dean gave a slight frown. Something told him that the officer was being WAY too accommodating. In fact he half expected that dick colonel to show up and try to run him off the place. This was just too weird and he started to wonder if Sam was okay and to an extent Angela. That he trusted her was enough to watch out for Sam was a big step for him since they barely knew each other. Thinking about it, Sam would have said there was one way to remedy that. At the moment Dean wasn’t willing to entertain the notion but he would think about it.

The security room looked like a broom closet but it showed just about every possible angle that could be covered. Dean went back to replay the images from the attack. It was like watching one of those slasher films with body parts being sprayed everywhere. Finally Dean latched onto the image of a cadet that was just walking through the place while bodies were being torn apart. He could make out the slight flickering that while could be mistaken as static, was actually supernatural.

The funny thing was that Dean couldn’t see the change in eyes like what would occur with demons and the like. The screen was flickering though and Dean thought that it might be a possession but what else was there? Ghost possession was pretty rare but not impossible yet the most likely candidate was a demon. Either way the cadet on the screen was the cause of it.

“What are you doing in here?”

Dean turned to see the face of the dick colonel and it was disturbingly calm. Glancing over the colonel’s shoulder, he could see the officer he spoke to earlier snickering. Dean resisted the urge to rip the kid’s lungs out and looked at the colonel. He said, “Just investigating Colonel.”

“From my understanding you were supposed to be off this case Agent Smith.”

Dean resisted the urge to punch the guy in the face and replied, “And from my understanding you have a ghost problem and we’re the only ones who can fix this.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about Agent Smith. It seems to me that you have trouble following orders.”

“Actually I think you do know what I am talking about. You have a problem and we’re the only ones that know what to do. So you can keep that sack over your head and let us do our jobs or you can jump in and actually do something about it,” Dean replied in a low voice.

“You are delusional and you are out of your jurisdiction. I suggest you leave the premises before I call the MPs and have you thrown in the brig.” Col Henderson regarded the ‘agent’ with a cool expression. As far as he was concerned, CID was no longer on the case. It was unfortunate that the three specialists were still around but at the moment he didn’t know where the other two were.

That girl that paid him a visit made it clear that he was to get them all off no matter what though he was to make sure that the Winchesters were alive. He called Morrie and told him that it was nothing and that he could take care of it. Obviously he hadn’t been convinced and probably told the three of them what was going on. Well time for drastic measures with this one.

Dean couldn’t believe this guy yet he got the distinct feeling that something was off about him. He decided to tread carefully and replied, “We came because you asked for help. At least let us make sure that the place is really okay before more cadets get killed.”

Col Henderson reverted to a cool gaze, unlike the hard and denying one he gave when he first met them, and said, “Please leave now.”

Dean looked at the colonel as if he was crazy and in an act of defiance, he crossed his arms. The colonel responded by summoning the reporting officer. He said, “Please escort Agent Smith outside the facilities. I’m sure he can find his way back to the village from there.”

“Yes sir,” the officer said and moved to grab Dean’s elbow.

Dean jerked it out of the officer’s reach. “Easy there. I don’t swing that way.” He gave a look at the colonel and followed the officer out of the building. He didn’t even get a chance to see if that Cadet Barcalow was all right. He scowled at the thought that he could be a part of that mess inside.

Once outside he said, “I can take it from here.”

“I’m sure you can,” the officer sneered.

Dean gritted his teeth before starting down in the general direction that would lead to the village. Once he was behind a building, he double backed and started towards the cemetery. He was walking between some buildings when something hit him from behind.

“Sonofabitch.”

“Interesting vocabulary but it is no matter. Just the thing I need,” a voice responded.

Dean looked around for the owner. He had a hand to his gun which he pulled out and pointed. He looked around for anything suspicious. He replied, “Where are you?”

“Here, there and everywhere. As it has been for the last two hundred years.”

“So you’re a witch then,” Dean asserted. He didn’t let his guard down as he moved about, peering around corners. It was a good thing that classes were in session and no one was around otherwise they would have wondered what he was doing pointing a gun around the place and it was possible that if he fired his gun, he could have hit someone.

“Oh… I will be soon enough.”

That remark puzzled Dean slightly but he took it to mean that it could be a possession of some sort. He retorted, “Not if I exorcise you first.”

“If you can get me before I get you.” The owner of the voice appeared out of the shadows.

Dean was surprised for a moment. He recognized the guy from the security video. He was just a kid but Dean could see the predatory look in the eyes though and thought he saw a flicker of something else. He really didn’t want to shoot the kid if he was possessed. It reminded him about Meg. His hesitancy cost him though and the kid struck with his fists and they were turbo charged.

Dean managed to give a couple of punches back but he got a fist in the face that knocked him down. The kid then jumped on him and started punching in his face. Dean could feel the blood spurt out of his mouth from the multiple hits. The last one hit square on the temple and knocked him out. _Sammy!_

****

JoAnne wrinkled her nose at the smell and slowly opened her eyes. She saw that she was tied to some piping. She recognized it as the basement of the building she had followed Parsons to. She wriggled to find that she had been tied to a pole.

“You okay Jo?”

“Dave?” JoAnne peered through the darkness of the room to see the familiar silhouette of Barcalow. “What are you doing here?”

“No idea,” Barcalow replied as he adjusted his position even though his hands were bound behind him. “I was in the detention center. Next thing I know I hear screaming and a whole bunch of noise. Jo, it was Parsons.”

“I knew it. I thought something was up when I followed him here,” JoAnne replied. She then had a thought and said, “Dave, I think Parsons has been in contact with something. It’s like someone is whispering the orders or something.”

“Well he did look a bit different when he came for me,” Barcalow replied, “Jo is this one of those things that you mentioned earlier? The things that belong in stories?”

JoAnne sighed as she looked down. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything but Dave did see the ghost. She knew that while he was dedicated to being a soldier, he wasn’t blind like Uncle Ted. Thing was, was it fair to bring him into it? Making her choice, she looked up and replied, “Yes. Dave I’m sorry you were dragged into this.”

“Hey it’s not your fault Jo. It just happened and who knew that it would be something like this?” Barcalow gave a reassuring smile to JoAnne. It was true that he never expected it to be like this but will be something to remember. Now if he could only just get free and stop Parsons. Suddenly a moan sounded. Barcalow peered through the darkness to see someone else was there with them. He asked, “Jo, who’s that?”

JoAnne peered through the darkness to the sound of the moans. She recognized the big yeti. She tried to remember the name instead of the nickname she attributed to him. She ventured, “Sam?”

Sam felt the pounding of his head and the burn of his wrists and arms. He opened his eyes and blinked, feeling the pain. He also felt the trickle of blood down the side of his head. Why did he listen to Dean and go to the cemetery? They knew the ghosts were being controlled so it would have been pointless. Angela thought the same thing though she was more reserved about it. A thought then occurred to him and he looked around for her. Where was she? Did they…?

“Hey you big yeti are you okay?”

Sam whipped around and saw the cadet from the other night. To her right, he saw Cadet Barcalow. Observing his surroundings, he could hardly see anything. It was humid in there and he felt like he was in a sauna. “Where are we?”

“In the basement of the science building,” JoAnne replied.

Sam twisted his wrists and felt the burn of the rope. They were tight. If he kept it up, then they would be rubbed raw. He grunted as he tried breaking the rope by pulling it against the pipe he was tied to. He gritted his teeth as the rope cut into his wrists. He could feel them get slippery with blood. He gave up presently. “Dammit.” He then looked at the others, “How tight are yours?”

JoAnne tested hers. “Pretty tight.”

“Same here,” Barcalow called.

Sam sighed as he tapped the back of his head against the pipe he was tied to trying to think. Dean was still out there and Sam had no doubt that Dean would come. If anything they were like bulldogs when it came to protecting and looking out for each other. He then started thinking of Angela. If she was out there, she would come, but what if she was hurt or even dead? Sam didn’t really want to think about that and it felt weird since he didn’t know her very well. Yet it felt like he did.

Knowing that such thoughts would get him nowhere, he began to concentrate on what was there. His vision was slightly blurry but he forced his eyes to focus. He noticed a sigil drawn on the ground and an arrangement of candles. It looked like they were tools for a ritual. Great so they really were dealing with a witch. The sigil was hardcore, black magic kind of stuff.

“You got a plan?”

Sam frowned having not heard the question. “What?”

JoAnne tried not to roll her eyes. After all the yeti did have his head bashed against a headstone. Probably was concussed. She repeated, “You got a plan ya big yeti?”

Sam ignored the name calling and replied, “Working on it. Dean will probably track us down here.”

“Uh news flash: You guys couldn’t get around the main campus unless you had a map and that is if you could understand the military designations,” JoAnne replied. “What makes you think your brother will find us? We’re in a basement.”

Sam twitched a little to see if it was still there. It was. He replied, “He can track the GPS in my phone. Dean will find a way.”

At that moment a door opened and any retort that JoAnne had died as all three of them turned to watch. To Sam it was a dark blob. The details were obscured by the hulk blocking the light, well what was left of the light. The figure walked forward and it was evident that it was carrying something or someone. As the figure walked into the light Sam saw clearly who was being carried. He growled, “Bastard what did you do to my brother?”

Parsons ignored the question while he dumped his load on the ground unceremoniously and tied his hands around another pole. When he was finished, he looked at Sam and replied, “Nothing he didn’t deserve.”

Sam tried pulling on the ropes again reopening the cuts he inflicted earlier. He was stopped when the guy in the cadet uniform grabbed a handful of his hair and rammed the back of his head against the piping. He gritted his teeth and said, “If you’ve done anything to him I swear…”

Parsons gave a wry grin, “You’ll do nothing because you’ll be dead as well as these meddlesome cadets.”

“Parsons stop this now,” Barcalow said. “Look if you turn yourself in now, you’ll probably be shown some measure of mercy.” He could tell that the tall guy was hurting from a head injury and he wanted to spare him from more pain. He tried the best thing he knew and that was negotiation.

Parsons laughed at the attempt, “You are an interesting human.” He then released Sam’s head while giving it a final bash against the pipe. He then walked over to Barcalow and kneeled in front of him. He continued, “You try to negotiate for your lives even when you see death is upon you.”

“It’s all about survival,” JoAnne retorted falling back on a mantra that her uncle used when he taught her wilderness survival. She then added, “And a will to live.”

“Indeed,” Parsons replied, “Which is why the both of you would be fitting.”

“And what is that? Cutting out our hearts?”

Sam turned to see that his brother was fully awake though his face looked like he had gone and kissed a pole. He was relieved that Dean was okay. In fact he was well enough to make a smart ass comment.

Parsons turned to face the elder Winchester and grinned, “So you decide to rejoin the land of the living. Now who would have thought that I would get two hunters in my web?”

“Do I know you? Because I’m quite sure I never saw you at the dinner table,” Dean retorted.

Parsons laughed, “You really are quite amusing. I think my decision to use you for tonight was the right one. A bit of sarcasm makes things stick very nice.”

“You intend to put us in a pie and eat us?” Dean was laying it on thick. He was pissed that this kid got one up on him and he was pissed that Sam was not looking good either from the blow to the head.

“Not quite but you’ll see. And your pretty friend won’t be able to interfere,” Parsons replied.

“What did you do to her?” Sam demanded with an unexpected harshness. Dean was startled by the reaction but he hid it well. He was concerned as well but more along the lines that a partner was in trouble.

Parsons noticed the tone of inflection in the younger Winchester’s voice. He considered telling it straight that he had her buried alive in the cemetery. However it was much more fun to torment with half-truths and subtleties. He hadn’t had this much fun in centuries. Hell it had been damn near impossible with the exception of forcing Lowe and Fisk to rise every seventeen years. He’ll milk it for what it was worth until he killed them. He replied, “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Dean recognized the signs of his brother’s temper rising. He realized that maybe Sam had gotten along with Angie much better than he thought. Truth be told he was concerned too. He asked, “Where is Angie?”

“Is that her name? Interesting one too. Tell me is she really like an angel?”

JoAnne winced at the mocking tones that Parsons was using. This was cruel of him torturing the hunters about their friend. She said, “Parsons please.”

“Please? Are you shitting me?” Parsons wheeled to face JoAnne. “Seriously Hickerson you really think that a simple please would put an end to the fun? Pathetic.”

“Hey if this is because of all the special drills you’ve gotten…” Barcalow started to say.

“Oh that Parsons had enough and he was grateful to you. Me, justice has to be served one way or another.” Parsons looked at his captives with a sly grin. He then pulled out several rags and began to tie them on, starting with Barcalow. “Now we can’t have you all making noise. No one will be able to hear you anyway but it is better to be safe than sorry and a good tactician looks at all the options.”

Barcalow felt the rag thrust between his teeth. Once tied, he managed to get out, “Parsons come on. Let us go. Let Jo go. She hasn’t done anything.”

“Oh she will do something,” Parsons replied as he went to JoAnne. He was much more gentle on her gag but he still trust it between her teeth.

JoAnne hated being manhandled and she tried to bite Parsons’ finger and succeeded. Her rewards was a backhand to the face. She turned to look at Parsons and said, “I hate being manhandled.”

Parsons grinned. “See I told you that you would do something.” He then kneeled in front of Dean. He then fished through Dean’s pockets and pulled out the CID badge and flipped it open. “Dean Smith, Special Agent. Hmm how much should I bet that one of those names isn’t real?”

“Bite me, bitch,” Dean retorted. He grunted as the gag was shoved into his mouth.

“Not me, but you will bite the dust… Dean,” Parsons replied smiling and he gave a pat with his hand to the hunter’s cheek.

Dean attempted to spit at Parsons but the gag effectively prevented him from doing so. Swallowing his spit, he said, “Not if I gank you first.”

Parsons chuckled, “We’ll see.” He then walked over to Sam holding the last gag. He stood for a moment looking down at the giant struggling. He then smiled, “And let me guess, your last name is Wesson?”

Sam didn’t say a thing. His head was pounding enough that he was seeing black spots in his vision and his wrists were burning and he wanted to know if Angela was okay. He glared up at Parsons while his breathing came out in angry heaves.

Parsons seemed amused by the whole scene. He kneeled and grabbed Sam’s hair and held his head firmly and said, “It doesn’t matter but you are by far the most amusing of the four. In fact you remind me of me.” He then forced the gag into Sam’s mouth and made sure that it was tied extra tight.

Sam felt like an extra thick stick was being shoved into his mouth as the gag was tied tightly around his head. It made the headache worse and he started seeing more spots. He still managed to glare at Parsons.

Parsons continued to grin at the younger hunter while kneeling in front of him. He slowly stood up saying, “Well you all play nice and I’ll see you tonight.” He then walked towards the door pausing only to say, “Oh and by the way, your friend is taking a nap six feet under. Permanently.”

Sam said nothing but bit hard on the gag. Dean’s eyes opened in anger. He managed, “Sonofabitch!”


	11. Chapter 11

The mist from the lake curled over the earth as night settled on the ground. A bird landed on soft piles of dirt to pick out the bugs that were crawling around. It grabbed one and ate it. It started for another but suddenly paused. It looked around for a moment as if sniffing or looking for something. Suddenly a hand thrust out of the dirt and waved wildly scaring the bird away.

Angela saw nothing but a crushing darkness. It was crushing her body whole. When she opened her eyes, she felt the grittiness of the dirt pour into them and into her mouth. She felt the crushing weight and she started to struggle. The lack of air made it difficult to breathe but she dug deep down and started digging her way up. She felt pain in her hands but that didn’t matter. The rocks hidden in the dirt hit her all over her body but that didn’t matter. The dirt crept into her mouth but that didn’t matter. She had to get free. She had to find them.

She felt the cool air touch her hand as she thrust it upwards. It was like thrusting her hand into a lake of cool water. It was like being refreshed on a hot summer day like in Florence that one summer… That encouraged her to continue digging upwards forcing her other hand through the dirt and rocks, scraping her hands. She flailed about trying to get a grip on the grass. Once she gripped it, she pulled herself upwards towards freedom. She was almost there but her strength was depleting. The air was leaving her lungs. It felt like when Suarez was draining her; life leaving drop by drop. The air was being sucked out. She needed air.

The first breath of fresh air was like a drink of water for a parched throat. It’s coolness was soothing to the burning of her lungs. After the first breath, she gulped it in and managed to heave the rest of her body out of the ground. She flopped forward face down on the ground and started heaving for air before pushing herself up on her elbows. She tried getting to her feet but she couldn’t. She needed to get up and tried again but the burning in her lungs was too much. She felt herself collapse under her weight. The pain was intense as it flowed through her lungs as dropped her head to the ground. She tried to keep her eyes open but there was too little air. Yet she needed to get up. Her hands slipped on the wet grass and her head hit the ground. Too little air and she gasped for air, trying to focus on her breathing. It was not enough. Then the world started to go black.

****

Col Ted Henderson drove through the campus searching for any sign of the three ‘specialists.’ He couldn’t explain it but he got the feeling that those three knew where JoAnne was. She had been missing since earlier even though she had authorization to leave the campus, his authorization. He knew that she must have forged his signature but didn’t she realize that he would have found out sooner or later? Oh he could make so that he did give her authorization but there would be consequences between him and her.

As head of security, he could drive just about anywhere on the grounds and few would question him. He turned onto Washington Rd. hoping that maybe something would show up. He made a stop at the garrison commander building to put out a feeler. He put out a bolo on any vehicles that appear to have been abandoned on the grounds. The orders were for them to call him and he would go and investigate; that he would handle it.

After leaving the garrison, Col Henderson got back into his jeep. He sat in the driver’s seat for the longest time. He knew that he had turned a blind eye to the things that he and his sister grew up with. He wanted the normal life and steadfastly refused to be a part of what his sister and parents got into.

He had been proud when his sister produced a daughter that was normal but he knew that Eleanor made it so that Jo would grow up away from that. He hadn’t wanted to admit it but he knew that there was something strange going on at the Point. He had seen the bloody ghosts and he denied it. Yet he couldn’t deny it further when that girl showed up at his quarters and told him to get the two boys out and he saw her eyes.

Sighing, Col Henderson pulled out a cell phone and punched in a number he hadn’t dialed in years. He hesitated only a moment before pressing the dialing. It rang three times before it was picked up and gave a greeting. Col Henderson then said, “Ellie, I need your help.”

****

It was quite pleasant sitting in the chair by the lake, listening to the water ripple with pleasant burbling. The sun was giving a perfect warmth as it warmed her skin and for once she didn’t mind that she was in a light sun dress. She smiled even though her eyes were closed and reached to place her hand on the arm rest of her chair only her hand touched another hand and one that was larger and familiar?

She opened her eyes and turned to where her hand was and looked at the hand that it covered. She watched as it moved to engulf her hand in warm gentleness. She remembered the feeling not too long ago. She had been slightly disoriented by the focus on the red vein of life but she remembered the touch. She was about to look up into the face at the hand’s owner…

“You seem to have a strange habit of entering this realm when you are close to death,” a familiar voice called to her.

Angela reluctantly tore her gaze away from the hand and its owner and looked towards the owner of the voice. She replied, “This would be twice now milady.” She then stood up to respectfully greet the goddess, noticing that she was still in the dress she woke up in. She asked, “Are you here to tell me what I must do?”

The goddess Isis looked at Angela was a benevolent smile as she looked behind at the fading scene. It was good that she interrupted now. Better that she not know now otherwise she would have avoided it and things wouldn’t be as they should. At least Angela was keeping the location active. They were on the shore of some lake yet it didn’t matter where. She replied, “My dear child, you have always done what you thought was right and what you know what you need to do.”

“But the last time…”

“When you are close to death, closer than I or the other powers like, you have the habit of wanting to continue down that path towards the end.” Isis shifted on her feet and smiled sadly. “You have much to give and yet with all that you’ve endured, you want it to end. That I can see.”

Angela sighed. What the goddess said was true. She had spent nearly five hundred years carrying a burden that she knew she deserved. Then two months ago she started down a path that she was certain would bring nothing but pain. Now twice she is in the realm between realms meaning that twice she was close to dying. She replied, “It’s true that the guilt feels so heavy that I want it to end. Dealing in so much death, at times it seems to outweigh the living that are saved but I still fight. Maybe it is as you say: that I still have things to do.”

Isis nodded at Angela. The girl had always been her favorite since she had been born. Isis had known then that she would become one of the third kind and it was confirmed by an old friend. The girl had a larger heart than most others she had met. “I can send you back but as it was granted you have the free will to stay and move on.”

Angela paused for a moment. The last time, the goddess said that she must go back. Now she was being offered a choice. She could go back and get more of the same. The same crap she had been dealt and had been dealing out over the centuries. Or she could let Death do his work and send her on her way to the other side, wherever that may be. She gave a confused from to the goddess.

****

The body lying there was stone cold to the touch. Such a sign meant that it was dead. However there were signs that it was not completely dead. Ah such the intricacies of the dead.

Right now the body looked peaceful even with all the dirt clinging to it. The least that could be done was to make it easier when it decided to wake up. Time to summon the minion to be back up. Time to clean up a mess and fix things otherwise there would literally be hell to pay for letting the plan fail. Wake up dead one.

****

Angela looked at the goddess. She had been given a chance to go back but why would she? She had given enough over the centuries. She began to pace in front of the goddess who was waiting patiently. Angela knew that the longer she remained in this realm, the harder it was to leave. Was that what she really wanted?

Isis watched the girl pace, deep in thought. She would not say anything. She knew that Angela would make the right decision but she needed to go through her options. Isis knew that this realm was whatever the walker made of it unless she herself brought them here. She merely watched the girl and the mortal realm to watch the others that would need the girl.

Angela paused a moment when she began to hear something. She cocked her head at the sound, trying to hear it clearly. As it became clearer, she recognized the sound. It was followed by others. They were sounds of people she had saved. She then felt sensations, remnants of handshakes until it ended with the feeling of her hand being held and bandaged and an image appeared in front of her. It was one that occasionally haunted her dreams since that night. It made up her mind.

Isis was watching the four of them. The two youngsters were handling it well. That military discipline was working for them. The two brothers varied. The elder one appeared to be cursing and trying to free himself. The younger one was showing a myriad of emotions. It interested Isis greatly at this development. Still only time would tell.

“Send me back.”

Isis cleared her vision and turned to look at Angela who was standing resolute. She could see that her mind was made up but she still had to ask, “Is this what you want?”

“Yes.”

Isis nodded at Angela. She replied, “Then I wish you luck.”

Angela gave a slight smile. Somehow she got the feeling that there were going to be future visits to the goddess in the future. She replied, “I’m sure that we will meet again milady.”

“May the Creator watch and guide you.”

“Thank you,” Angela replied still smiling, “I will honor my service to you.” She stood patiently as the goddess worked her power and a white light immersed her.

Angela felt the air rush into her lungs and took a deep breath while sitting up. She spent a few minutes taking in deep breaths and spitting out any remaining dirt in her mouth. Her nostrils breathed in the scent of dampened earth. She could feel live around her and she took it in.

“You really should look after yourself better little sister. One day you’ll find that no one will be able to save you.”

Angela turned to look at Lenya and glared. “What do you want Lenya?” She stood up to dust herself off only to find that she was still dizzy. She almost growled when she felt Lenya’s hand grab her to steady her.

“Can’t I show concern for my little sister? After all you little sister have yet to finish the job,” Lenya replied with a slight pout on her lips. Her voice was in the perpetual poisonous sweetness that many knew well. She relished the fact that her pretty Angie needed help and she gave it knowing that it would irritate her.

Angela shrugged Lenya’s hands away and began to dust herself off. She knew that it was rather futile since she was stained with dirt. Still it was something to do and it gave her a chance to gain her composure. “I’m not your sister Lenya and I came back to finish the case.” She paused as she glanced at her hands.

They had become bruised and bloodied from her climb out of the grave she had been buried in. The scratches extended up her arms and were mingled in with the dirt. She would need to clean and apply antiseptic later but the blood she had to deal with now. She stared at her hands and the dirt mingled blood on them. She rubbed them to get the dirt off and a rather lame attempt to get the blood off. As she was doing it, her thumb brushed against a slight scar on her palm. She stopped and looked at it.

“Interesting isn’t it? After all the time you spent denying and forgetting the fun we had with Daddy, you still can’t forget.” Lenya smiled her predatory smile while she watched Angela move. “I wonder what they will say when they find out.”

Angela was running a finger along the faint scar on her palm. Even after two months, the scar was still visible. She found it a strange quirk of her rapid healing. Sometimes scars remained behind but they always were from a life changing experience. There were some that she wished could have disappeared. This one though… this scar was left from the first case she worked with the Winchesters. It was her main reason for returning. She dusted her hands. “That shall be done on its own time Lenya. Why are you here?”

Lenya recognized deflection. It truly was an art form. She replied, “Cleaning up your mess. You should have left when you were told to.”

“And let cadets get killed,” Angela replied with a scoff as she finished rubbing her hands clean, “I don’t think so. They may be dicks but to kill them because of that, not a positive in my book.” She started looking around to see if the Impala was still around and for Sam and that cadet girl. “Sam? Hickerson?”

Lenya watched as Angela strode forward to look for her companions. She gave a slight laugh, “You’re not going to find them little sister.”

Angela wanted nothing more than to strangle the demon but she had to make sure that of Sam and that Cadet Hickerson were still there, at least she could make sure that they were all right. She remembered Sam getting a beating by that Lowe spirit before he turned on her. “What do you know Lenya?”

“I know plenty. Such as the fact that you have very little time before the ritual to find them. Bodine has some peculiar tastes.”

Angela paused. If she had little time then that meant that it really was a witch at work but she had never heard of the name Bodine. Her head started to pound as if she felt pressure on the side of her head. It was enough to make her eyes water but she held them back as she rubbed her temple.

“You can sense it can’t you? Oh little sister this is good news. Daddy will be pleased.”

Angela was now thoroughly irritated by Lenya and retorted, “I don’t care what you and that asshole of hell think. I want you to leave.”

“You’re going to have to do better than that Angie. But don’t take too much time. After all, I get the feeling that Sam and Dean won’t be alive for much longer if Bodine has his way. Not to mention those two cadets.”

“Then why don’t you stop it,” Angela replied.

“Because I merely give a nudge in the right direction to the players.” Lenya blew on her nails and buffered them against her coat. “You are one of the players. Always have been since your time with Daddy.”

“So this is a nudge, telling me that they have been taken. Why not do something useful like actually tell me where they are? Then I might consider letting you live another day.”

Lenya laughed. “If I told you then it would be pointless. You need to find them on your own. Consider it one of Daddy’s tests though I think it would have been a lot more fun if it involved the rich scent of blood.”

Angela stiffened slightly at the remark. “If you are going to be that way, then leave.”

“In a moment. I just have a final word for you: Stop this pointless fighting. You cannot deny what you truly are and you know what I mean… Angie.”

Before Angela could swing, Lenya was gone, leaving her alone. Angela spent some time getting her breathing under control. Lenya never failed to get a rise out of her. However these contacts always gave her more information to Azazel’s plans. Obviously she was to be a part of a larger picture but at the moment she couldn’t conceive of it. Maybe she could hook up with a friend that occasionally gave her a hand.

Right now she had to find Sam and Hickerson. Dean she had no clue since he was taking care of Col Henderson. She began to look towards the Impala. At least she had weapons but she needed to find a location.

“Are you going to finish it?”

Angela wheeled about ready to rip a head off but pausing when she came face to face with Col Henderson. She lowered her hands to show that she wasn’t going to do anything and replied, “I was going to no matter what you had us do.”

Col Henderson nodded and shuffled his feet slightly. His phone conversation was long overdue and he decided that he could try taking the stick out of his ass. “Can you do it?” When the girl in front of him didn’t respond, he added, “Jo has been missing all day. She was last seen entering here near the chapel.”

“She’s been taken by the person behind all of this,” Angela asserted, her tawny eyes assuming a hardened look. “So in a way you do have a suspect Colonel. Now what are you doing here? You intend to arrest me?”

“No,” Col Henderson replied. “Ignorance had only brought more problems. I…” He couldn’t say anymore.

Angela came to the realization that the colonel willfully ignored the supernatural because he wanted to have a normal life. She should have seen it earlier. She had met quite a few people who were descendant of hunters and they didn’t want the life. Unfortunately it was hard to remain obscure if you knew that there were things that could kill you and have been assumed to be figments of the imagination. This colonel was no different and she sympathized. “I understand. Right now I need you to trust me.”

“That I can do.”

Angela gave a slight sigh. It was time to reveal what she knew. She walked over to where the supplies had been dropped. She picked up her shotgun and checked it and began, “The ghosts are real but there is a bigger fish behind the whole thing and I suspect that it is one of your cadets messing with something they shouldn’t have. I am talking magic, the black magic and…”

When she picked up the lighter that Sam had been holding, something happened. Angela felt like something was compressing on her skull; it was blinding. It was instinctively to clamp her hands to her head yet she didn’t realize that she pounded her fist to her head since she was still holding the lighter. Suddenly an image flashed in front of her eyes.

_It was dark and humid. There was a marking on the floor. Four tied to poles. A man was standing but no face could be seen. He was holding an athame and it was raised…_

“Hey! You okay?” Col Henderson held onto the girl as she held her head. He wondered if he had to get her to the hospital for a head injury. He tried to hold her upright but she fought him at every turn.

Angela had her eyes squeezed shut and kept them shut. She barely heard the Colonel and replied, “She’s alive but not much time.”

“Where? Can you tell me where?”

Angela squeezed her eyes tighter and focused though she wanted to let go of the lighter. She wanted to let it go but instinct told her to hang on. She gripped it tighter.

_It was dark and humid. There were pipes everywhere like a basement. Suddenly a sign came into view…_

“Biohazard,” Angela said as she opened her eyes. Her grip loosened on the lighter. She took in a few deep breaths and peered at it. There was nothing special about it. What was even more disturbing was what happened. If anything it scared her but she knew it would do neither her nor the colonel any good if she couldn’t focus on getting to that pace she saw. There would be plenty of time later to examine it though it nagged at a thought she had.

Angela knew the Colonel was waiting and he was looking a little scared. She asked, “Is there any place with a basement that has the word biohazard?”

“The science building has that. Do you think that they are there?”

Angela pocketed the lighter. A glint of the light directed her attention and she picked up the object. It was the cadet button. After all that she found it. Giving a wry smile, she pocketed as well and started heading towards the Impala. “I don’t think. I know.”

Col Henderson had to jog to keep up with the girl. Ellie told him to trust her and listen to her so he would do that. He still had doubts but he was willing to try. He looked over the girl at her dirty and bloodied form. Her blouse was torn and dirty on the sleeves and she was still rubbing her temple. HE ventured, “Do you need to stop at the hospital?”

“No time.”

Angela got to the Impala and checked her pocket for the keys. She looked at the Colonel with a wry look when he asked if she should be driving. She kept that look as she got in and started the engine and took off towards the entrance to the main street. _Dean’s going to be pissed if she’s dirty._


	12. Chapter 12

Parsons walked through the campus grounds, joining the other cadets for dinner at the commissary. After all it wouldn’t do to act too out of the ordinary. He greeted a few that were his meat suit’s friends with a cheerful greeting. One was a particularly mousey fellow named Johnston. The kid asked, “Hey Parsons where have you been all day?”

Parsons gave a grin and replied, “Oh I’ve been around. Haven’t been feeling too good. Checked in at the dispensary and you know how that goes.”

“Right. Still, you missed a great lecture in the Thayer class. I have notes if you want to borrow them.”

Parsons rolled his eyes slightly as he took a drink. _As if I’m going to need those after tonight._ Still he had to play the role so he replied, “Thanks. I’ll copy them later.”

Parsons was thankful that the discussion switched topics to the prevailing topic among most of the men: football. The discussion was over who was playing, who was hurt and who improved their stats or whatever the hell you did to keep track of players. Parsons couldn’t care less but he maintained a polite interest falling back on his meat suit’s memories since the kid was a football fan himself.

The discussion was tolerable and then Parsons saw his means of escape. He excused himself and left the dining hall with the intent of going to some place like the library with the way he was holding his bag. He patted it to make sure that it was secure for he had the most important book inside. He made like he was heading towards the library giving proper salutes when he passed upperclassmen and releasing the lower classmen from their salutes.

Parsons had forgotten how much protocol operated on things at the Point. Two hundred years of reaching out was hardly informative but it did give time to plan. Now that plan was about to achieve completion and he would be able to come and go as he pleased. It would be a triumph and he would be free to pursue his enemies for what they did to him. He would get his revenge and they would pay.

Parsons made a slight detour to the lake reservoir. He had one last thing to collect and then he would begin. He didn’t have much time until the moon was in position and he’d be damned if he had to wait any longer. He had spent months calculating the position for the sigil. He was so close now. He could actually smell it as he approached the reservoir carefully searching for what he needed.

****

Dean tried picking the ropes with his fingers but the knots were tied too tightly for that. There were no nails around for him to pick out of the floor and use. In fact the whole place seemed to be made out of metal and concrete. He growled in frustration, “Isn’t there anything around that has a sharp edge?” Since his mouth was gagged, it sounded like a series of grunts.

“It’s a basement,” JoAnne replied sarcastically, “Nothing but pipes and concrete.”

Dean glared at JoAnne but relented. He really couldn’t be that mad at her comments since they were both in the same boat. Yet the edge in her voice irritated him. He replied, “No shit Sherlock.”

“Right, Captain Obvious.”

Barcalow had drifted into a light doze. He had been there the longest and knew that Parsons was not taking any chances which was why there was nothing around for them to cut themselves free. He did the only sensible thing to do and that was to wait. Unfortunately it was tiring so he closed his eyes and drifted off. He was only brought out of it by the sounds of Jo and that other guy Parsons called Dean grunting insults at each other. He opened his eyes slightly and said, “Jo.”

JoAnne looked over at Barcalow and said, “Don’t Jo me Dave. I’m just answering his question.”

“More like being a smartass,” Dean retorted.

“D’n?”

Dean was distracted by his brother’s strangled voice. He knew that Parsons kid tied the gag tighter on Sam. People got the impression that because Sam was freakishly huge, they had to overdo it if they wanted to tie him up. In the dim light though he could see that Sam wasn’t doing too well and concluded that he might be having a concussion. “Sam?”

Sam had struggled to stay awake since he was sure he had a concussion. He kept seeing black spots in his vision and the tight gag didn’t help at all. He could barely speak but he could relay information with his eyes. While he was sitting there, he managed to remember the penknife that he had on him. When he had shifted his leg to keep it from falling asleep, he felt it and had begun jiggling it towards his feet. He was close when Dean and that JoAnne girl started bickering. It fell out and that was when he called to his big brother.

Now that he had Dean’s attention, he motioned with his head to his feet. He tried to enunciate, “N’ife.”

Dean followed Sam’s nods trying not to grimace at the fact that his brother couldn’t properly enunciate words at the moment. He spotted the knife that Sam managed to shimmy down to his feet. He grinned and replied, “Good work Sammy. Try and get it to me.”

Sam nodded and tried to manipulate his feet to twist the knife in grip between them. JoAnne had heard the big yeti mumble to his brother and noticed that he was moving funny. She then saw the knife by his feet and it became clear what was going on. She watched as he tried to get it between his feet. Peering into the darkness she noticed that the exertion was starting to wear upon the big yeti and his eyes were starting to droop. She said, “Hey, you can do it ya big yeti. Hey! Sam!”

Sam felt his eyes starting to droop as he was manipulating the knife between his feet. HE then heard someone shout at him and his eyes shot open. He looked around, his head pounding, and blinked a few times. Focusing once more, he grasped the knife between his feet and lifting them, he tossed the knife. “D’n.”

Dean had seen his brother falter but then the girl JoAnne woke him up. He was amused that she called him a yeti but it seemed to work when she used his name to wake him up. He shot her a grateful glance while concentrating on his brother’s movements. He watched the knife fly and land hard on his shoulder. “Great job Sammy.”

Sam nodded and made a sound. He looked over at the girl JoAnne and gave a slight nod. Through the haze in his head he heard her jerk him awake. He was grateful for that. He looked back over towards Dean who had managed to shake the knife behind him.

Dean felt the knife smack his fingers as it fell to the ground. Moving his fingers he managed to grasp the knife and snap it open. What he didn’t count on was hearing the rip in his shirt or the jacket. He looked at his brother like he had when he they worked the lady in white case after being dumped into the mud. Sam was looking at him with a grin evident on his face. Dean shook his head and said, “Don’t say anything Sam.”

Sam only smiled bigger, revealing more of his teeth and a laugh came out. He was accompanied by JoAnne who heard the rip and even Barcalow who joined in from the infection of laughter. Dean merely scowled at his brother as he moved the knife and started working it to slice through the rope. It was slow and hard work since his wrists were tightly bound but he was determined. He needed to get free and help his brother Sam.

Suddenly a noise sounded as the door opened. Dean paused slightly and watched as that Parsons fellow walked in. He started again on cutting the rope praying that his activities wouldn’t be noticed. He glanced over at Sam and gave a slight nod to tell his brother to distract the kid. He was relieved that Sam was paying attention as he focused on the kid.

Parsons knew that something was going on the moment he entered the basement. If he had his suspicions correct, the hunters had a handy little tool that they were going to try to use to escape. He would play along for a little bit just to give them some measure of hope. Then he would take it away from them and that was the fun of it all.

He went to work. The sigil needed to be redrawn so he did that first with the cans of spray paint that he obtained. This had to be done right and then he would be free. He arranged the items as necessary.

“Seriously you’re going to use that?”

Parsons looked at JoAnne as she spoke. He knew she was stalling for time so he wasn’t even going to bother taking the bait. Instead he said, “I’m a stickler for ritual.”

Barcalow joined in to keep Parsons’ gaze off of Dean, “Huh sounds like Karos with his whole stance on pomp and circumstance. Eh Jo?”

“Yeah. At least Parsons is not a peacock about it,” JoAnne replied with a chuckle.

Parsons was amused by the comment and started laughing with them. He continued to laugh as he moved as if to place one last thing. He then swooped towards Dean and reached behind him. His hand closed on the knife and he snatched it away. “My, my you have been busy.” Parsons then peered at the knife and grinned. “Silver? Are you kidding me? What do you two think me to be?”

Dean glared and retorted, “Obviously someone not affected by silver. Maybe we try holy water.”

Parsons laughed as he snapped the knife shut and threw it away. He then gave a punch to Dean to disorient him while he untied him and then tied his wrists behind him as well as his legs and dropped him unceremoniously at the end of a line that went towards the center of the sigil. “You will be east where things begin.”

Dean didn’t appreciate being manhandled and hogtied. He made it known even though he was still gagged, “Sonofabitch. I’m gonna rip your lungs out!”

Parsons kneeled close to Dean’s ear and whispered, “I like it when you hunters make your threats. It will make this all the more sweeter.” Parsons then got up and went to grab Barcalow.

Barcalow submitted, adopting a wait and see approach. Parsons dropped him on the north end and tied him in the same manner as Dean. Parsons asked, “What no rejoinder like this one?”

“Words are a waste of time when the inevitable is near,” Barcalow replied calmly through his gag.

Parsons eyed him with suspicion while he undid JoAnne’s restraints. She fought once her arms were free. Swinging her arm, she managed to punch Parsons in the face. The movement was so sudden that Parsons let her go and she made a run for it. She didn’t get very far for she suddenly felt herself being flung into a wall and pinned by an invisible force. Suddenly Lowe appeared and he was holding her firmly in place.

“Did you think it would be that easy to escape?”

“It was worth a try,” JoAnne retorted clearly as she managed to get her gag off. She continued to struggle as Lowe brought JoAnne back over.

Parsons was smiling as he re-tied her arms behind her back. He directed Lowe to put her in the south position after he tied her legs together. He slipped her gag back on and said, “Resourcefulness. No wonder Barcalow likes you so much but you don’t see it do you?”

JoAnne glared at Parsons. Of course she knew Barcalow liked her and she did too. Thing was at the Point you had to maintain some sense of decorum. Plus she was related to Col Henderson, a thing that she never advertised but still she maintained some sense of respect. She glanced over at Barcalow who was looking as stoic as ever but he gave a slight nod. She then replied, “And what do you see Parsons?”

“Plenty,” Parsons countered before heading over to where Sam was tied up. He took no chances and tied Sam’s legs first. He looked up and noticed his prisoner was struggling to stay awake. He reached over and gave a condescending pat to Sam’s face, “Wake up there.”

Sam opened his eyes and found himself looking into the kid Parsons’ face. He realized that he nearly drifted off again as well as his restraints being undone. Maybe he could try something and…

“Don’t even think about it.”

Sam looked around and saw that the ghost of Lowe was hovering over him and suddenly he was grabbed in a vice grip while his hands were rebound. He heard Parsons muttering, “Oh dear I guess I tied these tight enough,” and then felt the sting of his cut wrists being prodded. He was then dragged and placed at the west end of the sigil. “D’n?”

“It’s okay Sam.”

Parsons perked up. He then looked at the two hunters. “Sam? Sam and Dean Winchester?” He looked at the two hunters as they lay there. “Well I’ll be. I’ve heard much from whispers about the two of you. This will definitely make this worthwhile.”

“Not if we gank you asshole,” Dean retorted.

“You may get your chance if you live through this,” Parsons replied as he pulled a large bowl and his book out of his bag. He placed them in the center of the sigil. He then began to tick off the list, “Let’s see: sigil, the cardinal points. Now what next? Ah hair from the east the oldest of the winds.” He walked over towards Dean and grabbed a small lock of his hair and gave a yank. He smiled at Dean’s outburst.

Barcalow braced himself as Parsons came over towards him and rolled him over. He felt Parsons pry his fingers open in a splayed fashion. Something gripped his fingernail and pulled. Barcalow bit down on the gag as his fingernail was removed while Parsons said, “A fingernail from the north, the calming winds.”

Barcalow grunted in pain as he was rolled over to face the center of the circle. The pressure of his body on the finger with the removed nail was excruciating at the moment but his focus was on Jo. He watched as Parsons dropped his nail into the bowl and walked over to Jo carrying a wicked looking dagger. He spat, “Parsons, leave her alone! Don’t!”

JoAnne watched as Parsons got what he wanted from Dean and Dave. She felt raw fear as Parsons approached her with a dagger. She wondered what Parsons wanted with her and prayed that it would be a cut or something. It was unexpected when she heard the rip of her clothes and Parsons was standing with a scrap of her shirt in his hand. He said, “Clothing from the south, the ‘spunkiest’ of them all.” He then turned and dropped it into the bowl.

Sam watched Parsons go to each of the others to collect something from them. When he saw that his turn was up, he got the bad feeling that what this Parsons fellow wanted something more from him. He moved his eyes around as if trying to pray for some sort of help to arrive.  A part of him hoped that Angela was all right and that she would come. He struggled to stay awake as he focused on a biohazard sign. At the moment it seemed like the right thing to do and it kept him awake and focused.

Parsons was rather disappointed that Sam wasn’t putting up much of a fight. Then again, it could be that the concussion was making it so easy for him and the gag was thicker and tighter. Then again he could be the one that was a silent until the right moment. He kneeled over Sam with the dagger and a small bowl. He noticed that the younger Winchester was focusing on something and he followed it to the biohazard sign on the wall. He looked back and grinned. “I guess you’re no stranger to pain are you. You just don’t want to face it.”

Sam moved his head to look at Parsons. His eyes narrowed. “Wn gt way dis.”

Parsons laughed at Sam’s attempt to speak. He replied, “That’s what I like to hear from a Winchester.” He then lifted Sam’s jacket sleeve and pressed the edge of the knife against the flesh. Slowly he drew the knife across the soft flesh.

Sam grunted as he felt the knife slice across his skin. He was tempted to press his head into the ground but that would only aggravate his headache. Then an even more intense pain came and he cried out. He could vaguely hear Dean calling his name but all he could feel was the pain. He then looked up and saw Parsons holding the bloody dagger and the bowl over him. Then Parsons said, “Flesh and blood from the west where it all ends.”

Sam looked and saw a scarlet stain start to spread over his upper arm. God it burned. He watched with a glare as Parsons went back to the center of the sigil and pour it into the bowl. He heard his brother call to him. He replied, “M’ kay D’n.”

Dean had watched as Parsons cut his brother and take blood and a piece of skin. He saw his  brother writhe and cry out in pain. It threw him into a rage. No one hurt his brother otherwise they would suffer the consequences. At the moment though, he was powerless to stop the pain his brother was in. He let out a feral growl and called Parsons a bastard and other choice names. When the bastard left Sam alone he asked, “You okay Sammy?”

Sam’s muffled reply was assuring to him but it didn’t help in their current situation. He looked at the Barcalow kid who was going through his own spurt of pain and JoAnne who was spitting mad and trying to get free. He then looked at Parsons who was standing in the center. He asked, “What next? Some sort of secret herb? A hex bag?”

Parsons looked at Dean and grinned. “You really are the little talker. I was right making you the east.” Parsons then turned his attention to the large bowl and said, “And the soul of the host to bind it all in one.”

A low rumble sounded as the lines of sigil began to glow. It started from the center and spread out to the four lines that made the cardinal points. Dean opened his eyes wide as he watched the glowing line head towards him. He tried to move away but found that he couldn’t as the line touched him. He looked around wildly at the others and then across to Sam.

Sam was trying to move as well but his movements were sluggish and then he wasn’t moving. It was as if something were holding him in place. He rolled over onto his back to try to get up but he was held down. He could feel his fists digging into his back and then the place where he had been cut started burning. “D’n!”

Dean heard his brother but couldn’t move. His head started throbbing where his hair had been yanked out. What the hell was going on. He focused his attention on Parsons who was standing in the middle of the sigil. He was reading something out of that book. Dean could recognize the Latin but was no exorcism ritual. He heard Sam cry out his name and he replied, “Sammy!”

Parsons proceeded. He heard the cries of pain from his four chosen. If they survived, he would be able to have so much fun with this. He then said in English, “With the four points joined at the center open the gates to let the spirit through so that he may once again walk.” He then picked up the book and began to recite the ritual in the traditional Latin.

The light began to intensify as Parsons continued to read from the book. It felt as if a wind or a gale was blowing through the place as it engulfed the entire area. Parsons recited the last three lines to the point that he was nearly screaming it. Then the light retreated back into the ground as if being sucked like a vacuum. Then it blasted out like a shockwave.

Parsons was still standing there. He looked down at the four bodies on the ground. The blast had pushed them to face outwards which signified the opening of the gate. Parsons felt around in his mind and flexed his hands and fingers. The original owner of the meat suit was gone. There was only him. He had succeeded. Pleased he started to laugh.

Sam felt like he had been dragged through the back roads that he and Dean traveled through. The last thing that had been coherent before he blacked out was the blast of light that shoved him over. Slowly he opened his eyes to find himself facing outwards. His head was still pounding and he took it as a good sign that he was still alive. Lying right there in front of him was the knife that Parsons threw away from Dean. He quietly wriggled his wrists and found that the blast had burnt through the ropes. His hands were free.

Slowly he tested his arms and tried not to wince as he allowed his arm to move back into the position that it was meant to move. He paused when he heard slight movement and pretended that he was still unconscious. He risked a turn backwards and saw that Parsons was looking away so he continued to reach for the knife. At the same time he removed the gag and manipulated his jaw. It felt good to actually move his jaw.

The cold metal felt good on his palm as he enclosed his hand over it. He then pulled his hand slowly into his body to hide the knife.  He had to move quickly and quietly. He rolled over to look at the other three. He couldn’t tell if the girl and the boy were alive but he could tell that Dean was okay by the way his side was heaving and because he couldn’t conceive the thought of his brother dying on him. He slowly got to his feet and pulled the knife out and extended the blade.

Parsons was laughing and his back was towards him. All Sam had to do was plunge it into the guy’s back. Sam raised his arm ready to strike. Sam took a silent breath and blinked since his head started to pound more intensely. He had to do it now. He lowered his arm intending to strike. Suddenly he found his wrist grabbed in a vice grip and he was looking at Parsons. The guy smiled at him and actually lifted and threw him across the room with surprising strength.

Sam felt himself skidding along the ground until a wall stopped him. Surprisingly he still held onto the knife. He grimaced slightly from being winded as Parsons advanced towards him. Sam tried to get up and nearly slipped but he got to his feet. He tried swinging again but was blocked and he was punched in his gut before Parsons held up his palm and said something. Sam felt the familiar pinning sensation as he was flung into the wall. He grunted and asked, “So what was the purpose of that?”

Parsons grinned as he walked up to Sam. “Oh it achieved its purpose of allowing me to walk this earth again as I did two hundred years ago. Now I am free and I can use my full powers. You are just a test run.” He raised his hand and was about to say something when he was grabbed from behind.

Dean had woken up to find Parsons tossing Sam about like he was a ball. It took him a few minutes to pull the burnt ropes away to allow him to get up and help his brother. He grabbed Parsons from behind. He said to Parsons, “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

It was futile at best. Parsons summoned Lowe and Fisk with the familiar commands. He flung Dean off and Lowe went to work pinning him and Barcalow, who was beginning to stir. Fisk stood by JoAnne and when she opened her eyes, he made a slight motion for her to stay still. She did as she was bidden and listened to the conversation.

Parsons looked at his awakened captives and said, “Heh. I knew I chose well the people needed to break the seals and now that I am in a new body, I can seek revenge on those that have slighted me.”

“Isn’t that two hundred years too late?” Sam managed to ask.

“No because there are always going to be dicks here at the Point and out there. They need to be dealt with. Unfortunately for you, you will have the pleasure of seeing me test my full powers.” Parsons then raised his hand and started to say a chant or a spell.

Dean started to feel a slight burning sensation. He gritted his teeth as the burn intensified. He looked at Parsons who was giving a feral grin. It intensified and he could hear Barcalow and Sam grunting in pain as well. _Please not again._


	13. Chapter 13

Parsons grinned as he watched the Winchesters and Barcalow grimace in pain. He then glanced at JoAnne and said, “I know you are awake, honey. Don’t worry I have plans for you.”

Upon hearing that, JoAnne decided to jump up and attack Parsons. The moment she did, she was seized by Fisk, who looked at her sadly. She struggled and was surprised by the strength of the ghost. She saw what Parsons was doing to Dave and the brothers. She shouted, “Parsons stop it!”

Parsons turned to look at JoAnne. He lowered his hand which stopped what he was doing to the three boys. He walked up to JoAnne and looked at her. He then smiled and replied in a dangerous tone, “Parsons is no longer in here,” and pointed at his head, “In fact Parsons gave himself to help bring me back into this world. I am Bodine and you will make an excellent host for a demon I know.”

JoAnne knew what that meant and she was grateful that she put on the charm that her mother had given her. She gave a defiant smile. “You can go ahead and try but you’ll be sorry you ever did, whoever the hell you are.”

“Oh no my sweet. Perhaps you will be sorry you defied me.” Parsons then ran a finger down JoAnne’s cheek.

JoAnne spat into Parsons/Bodine’s face and glared. She watched as he just smiled at her. Was there anything that didn’t agitate this guy? He then said something that chilled her blood, “Have it your way because what you see next will be what you’ll see before you die.”

JoAnne watched as the freak held up his hand and said some words and she saw the three of them start to cry out. She struggled trying to get free. The ghost holding her tightened his grip and warned her not to move. She didn’t care though and continued to struggle. She watched as Dave spat out a bit of blood and looked at Parsons. Then suddenly he was thrown aside and slammed into a wall. JoAnne looked to see the three boys drop to the ground where they spent a few moments trying to catch their breath.

“How is it possible that you are alive?” Parsons’ voice sounded.

“Call it an act of God,” a familiar voice came through the darkness.

JoAnne looked at the newcomer. She was still being held but she felt the grip slacken slightly. She could surmise the ghost was startled as well. When the newcomer stepped into the light, she was thoroughly surprised, even more so when a second person showed up.

****

Dean had the clearer view of the door to the basement but it was hard to remain coherent when his chest was burning. It reminded him of what the yellow-eyed demon did to him at the cabin before his father died. It was like déjà vu and he wondered if he really was going to die this time. He could hear his brother grunting and the girl screaming at the guy to stop. Then suddenly the pain stopped and he dropped to the ground like a lead bar. He was on his hands and knees trying to catch his breath when he heard the surprised question from that Parsons dick. The response had him look up.

“Angie?”

****

Angela must have broken the campus rules about speeding just to get there. She thought she was too late when she felt the blast in the ground. She had raced inside with Col Henderson following. He had looked at her strangely when she pulled Absolution out of the Impala’s trunk but she didn’t care. Absolution had the power to kill anyone and anything and if this was something like a demon or a witch, she needed to be sure the thing was good and dead.

She came across the possessed cadet holding Sam, Dean and Barcalow against the wall. She could see some blood coming out of Barcalow’s mouth. With Dean, she recognized the look. For a moment she thought that she was too late again but then she felt the hilt of her sword brush against the scar and it brought back clarity but it was accompanied by something else.

She summoned the power that was second nature to her but released the walls that she had put up over the years. With a swipe of her hand, she sent the cadet flying and at the same time released the three prisoners. She couldn’t do anything about JoAnne unless the ghost decided to break free or she killed the one controlling him. She walked into the light holding Absolution pointed downward aware that Col Henderson followed her in with one of the shotguns that she had given him when they pulled up. The cadet’s voice of surprise brought a smile to her face and she replied in the most smartass comment that came to her.

“Angie?”

Angela heard Dean’s voice and glanced over at him. She gave a slight smile before reverting her gaze to the cadet she had flung into the wall. She said, “You know, I’d say that now your time has come.”

Parsons looked at the girl was amusement thought he was still surprised to see her alive. He was now determined to find out what exactly she was. She clearly wasn’t human. He replied, “Why don’t we see together if that is true?”

Angela tightened her grip on Absolution. The last thing she wanted was to get into a fight with a… whatever the cadet was and two ghosts. She was sure Lowe was around somewhere though at the moment all she could see was Fisk. Still this had to end. “This is only going to end in one way and that is with you dead.”

“We’ll see,” Parsons replied. He then said something and thrust his hand out. The end result was flames shooting towards her.

Angela did what she could and pushed the Colonel out of the way before springing to the side as the flames brushed harmlessly past. It was on and she charged forward. She slashed at the cadet only to have her arm blocked by something invisible. Then Lowe appeared and Angela reacted by swiping her blade through him giving the same effect as a rod of iron would. It was enough though to distract her enough to barely dodge the next blow of fire. Her shirt ended up getting licked by the flames.

Without missing a beat, she ripped off the button down and flung it down where the flames died out. It left her in her tank that she wore underneath but it gave a good angle of something that she never let anyone see. Parsons saw it however and said, “Ah so you are one of them. No wonder you survived.”

Angela lunged forward to attack. Parsons was ready however and blocked her forearm and used his power to send her flying back. It caused her to lose her sword and it flung away from her. That didn’t matter as she stood on her feet and held her hands up in attack formation.

****

Col Henderson didn’t expect to see the fire come towards him but was grateful that the girl shoved him out of the way. It gave him the opportunity to free JoAnne by shooting the ghost in the head with the shotgun. He looked at his niece and gave a mock scolding, “I thought I told you to always be prepared Cadet JoAnne Hickerson.”

“Right back at you Colonel,” JoAnne replied with a wry smile. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Thank me later when we get rid of this problem,” Col Henderson replied as he cocked his shotgun. He backed up to give Barcalow a hand up, “You all right Barcalow?”

Barcalow coughed and spat the blood that was left in his mouth out, “As ready as ever sir.”

Col Henderson would have said something but the Lowe ghost reappeared as well as Fisk. Col Henderson fired at both. Then two more ghosts appeared but they weren’t Fisk or Lowe. Col Henderson fired at one but he found that he was out of shells. He fished into his pockets to reload but it was almost too late. Then the agent that gave him lip earlier came through with some piping and swung it at the ghost making it leave. He then said, “Finally decided to join the party Colonel?”

Col Henderson knew he deserved that and replied, “Whenever you are Agent Smith.”

“Dean.”

“Ted.”

A couple of ghosts appeared and they both took their turn. Col Henderson shot his reloaded shotgun and Dean took a swing. JoAnne meanwhile had an idea and pulled Barcalow to follow. That book Parsons had been reading might be able to help them out.

****

Sam felt himself drop to the ground and the burning sensation die down. He heard Parsons say something but it was the person who responded that got his attention. He looked over and there she was. She was alive!

Sam couldn’t describe the feelings of relief that he felt at the moment. Right now he had to concentrate and focus on finding a weapon and helping her. He was still hazy and barely registered when Dean checked on him and helped him to his feet. He waved his brother away to say that he was all right. When he looked up, he saw that Angela had barely dodged some sort of flame thrower flame. Her shirt was smoking and he wondered if she had been burnt. He hardly expected her to do what she did next.

Without hesitation, she had torn off her shirt and flung it aside. It was then Sam saw it. It was a tattoo of some sort. That much he was sure of. Taking a moment to move and get a better look, he saw that it was similar to the sigil tattoos she had given him on the last case. However this was just one and he could make out two distinct smaller patterns that were interwoven into the design.

Then a clang brought him out of his observation and he saw Angela’s sword lying there on the ground. He saw that she had been thrown back but she was back on her feet in an instant. Sam glanced back at the sword and was reminded of the last time he threw it to her. However the basement was too enclosed to do that. He picked up the sword and moved towards Parsons. He was waylaid by Lowe who grinned a feral grin and then disappeared. Sam was in for a rough ride.

****

JoAnne pointed out the door to Barcalow and had him bash it in. She ignored the shotgun shots going off as she flipped through the pages of the book. From what she could make of it, they were spells and rituals. Silently she thanked her brother Teddy for helping her learn Latin as she eliminated the rituals and looked through the spells.

“Found the room Jo and I overturned the altar like you said,” Barcalow said as he came out of the closet that she had tracked Parsons to earlier. “I also found something that might help,” and he held out a small bag.

JoAnne took it and looked at it. She handed it back to Barcalow and said, “Burn it Dave. It think it’s bad news.”

Barcalow shrugged his shoulder and picked up one of the still lit candles and held it to the bag and let it burn. He turned his attention back to JoAnne and then towards the others that were still fighting. They looked like they were in bad shape and he said, “Faster Jo, faster.”

“Patience is a virtue,” JoAnne replied in a singsong tone. She was going as fast as she could. She had been watching the fights unfold and she didn’t want it to continue any longer than it should. She then found something, “I’ve got it.”

“Then read it Jo. I think we’re going to get more trouble than can be expected,” Barcalow replied as a ghost appeared in front of him. He yanked JoAnne out of the way and flung her aside and prepared to face the ghost. He noticed that the guy named Dean had some sort of iron pipe. He quickly looked around and finding what he needed, he picked it up and swung at the ghost. “Hurry up Jo. I’ll cover your flank.”

JoAnne rolled her eyes slightly and started to read the Latin. She hoped this would work.

****

Angela was back on her feet after being flung. She stood up and gave a slight twist if her shoulders as if to stretch them. This guy wanted to play rough then so be it. She held her hands up in a fighting stance and beckoned the cadet to come forward.

Parsons was eager to engage the girl. Now that he had an inkling of what she was, it would be all the much more sweeter in his victory. He noticed the others were wiping out Fisk and Lowe too easily so he uttered an incantation and more ghosts were summoned to do his bidding. He looked at his opponent and said, “You’re in over your head. I can summon any ghost I want.”

“I guess that is a problem and it will be solved with your death,” Angela replied.

“And so far you have failed thus. Maybe being buried six feet under dulled your senses?” Parsons began muttering a spell causing one of the abandoned piping on the ground to shake. When he had finished, it was floating in the air and sailing with deadly speed towards Angela.

Having no physical weapon, Angela had to resort to the weapon she had trained with most of her life, her body and her powers. She ran to meet the sharp piping that was coming towards her. With a spring of her foot, she pushed off to leap onto one of the water piping pipes and pushed off from that. Using her feet, she kicked the pipe off its course and into the cement ground where landed with a twang. She landed in front of Parsons and said, “Got anything else?”

Parsons smiled as he backed up. He replied, “One is easy but what about more?” His hand was closed over the knife that he had recovered from Sam after that failed attempt at knifing him. He grinned as another pipe came at her spinning.

It was too close for Angela to block properly and it struck her across the face, forcing her to look away. Parsons took his chance and threw the knife at her, aiming for her chest. He released it with more strength than necessary but he wanted to put the bitch down.

The blow to the head hurt bloody hell but it didn’t dull all her senses. Angela sensed the knife and reacted. Twisting her body she swung her right arm back and reached out to catch the knife. Following through with the force of throw, Angela whirled around and flung it back at Parsons where it landed in his left shoulder. She recovered and made ready to continue the fight.

Parsons felt the sting of the knife and became enraged. “You bitch. You knifed me!”

“Rules of combat,” Angela replied.

Parsons started to advance towards Angela slowly. “Don’t be a smartass, bitch. You just knifed me!” He pulled it out of his shoulder and held it in a firm grip. He then began to make thrusting movements at Angela.

Angela dodged the swipes at her but it wasn’t entirely successful. After one swipe got through her defenses and left a gash on her forearm. Angela took the momentary pause to examine the cadet’s stance. Whoever took over the body, it knew how to fight. Some of the stances were dueling stances. She had to find out more. She asked, “So why all the pomp and circumstance?”

“I needed time to find the right body. How else was I to come back?”

“So the killings every seventeen years were just you biding your time?”

Parsons waved his knife at Angela as if to indicate that he wasn’t going to be fooled by this. “You really have no idea what it’s like, do you? To go through every day praying that you won’t get a special drill because you happen to look like an easy target; it’s hell.”

Angela gave a slight chuckle as she backed up and got into a circling pattern with Parsons. She replied, “I’ve been through hell and back and believe me a special drill is nothing. In the end the one being the dick graduates and you are free.”

“Not for me it wasn’t,” Parsons replied.

“What? Couldn’t hack it anymore? Did you quit and become a disgrace?” Angela replied knowing full well that it would just make the cadet angrier. Still something told her that she should do it, that she should get inside his defenses and into a lock.

It had the desired effect for Parsons nearly screamed, “I was not the disgrace! They were and they all deserve to die!” He then lunged forward with the intent to drive the knife through her heart.

Angela blocked the charge and grabbed the wrist with the weapon in one hand and with the other got a firm grip on Parsons. The strange sensation she got when she touched the lighter appeared but there was no pounding headache. Rather it was as if time slowed and she was transported to another moment in time.

She was still in the basement but it was different. She could see that anything that would have been considered modern was not there. She looked around and realized that she was in the past. A noise then caught her attention and she walked towards it.

She saw a group of cadets heckling a smaller one. Surprisingly the kid looked a lot like the one she was fighting now. As she edged closer, she could hear the cadets talking. One was saying, “We know what you’ve been doing Bodine. You think you can ever be like us and make through the Point?”

The kid being heckled, Bodine, replied, “I don’t know what you are talking about.” He was clutching his books tightly together.

“Don’t think we haven’t seen you sneaking off here. Now that is a dereliction. We could place you on report for that you know.”

Another snatched Bodine’s books out of his hands and began looking through them. A big black one fell out and it landed face up and open. Once it was picked up the group began heckling Bodine. “So you don’t know what we are talking about eh Bodine. From the looks of this you’ve been dabbling in contraband material.”

“Give it back,” Bodine demanded.

“Make me.”

Bodine lashed out with a basic spell to snatch the book out of the cadet’s hands. Unfortunately that started a fight and the group ganged up on Bodine claiming he needed a very special drill. They continued to punch and kick at him.

Suddenly Angela was transported back to the present and she looked into the burning hatred in Parsons eyes. She said, “You were killed during a special drill weren’t you… Bodine?”

Parsons recognized his name from then and shoved the girl away. He glared at her and demanded, “What do you know about that?”

Angela held her hands out as if to placate the angry cadet. In truth it was a deception. She was ready for any sign of attack. She replied, “You were a cadet at the Point. I’m guessing in 1846 maybe later. You were given a special drill by a group of cadets.” She moved when the cadet moved so as not to expose her back to him. “It was given because you had a book. A black book. You practiced witchcraft.”

“All I ever wanted was to be a soldier,” Parsons replied. His anger was great that he sent any loose objects flying while advancing towards the girl. He used it as a distraction while setting up for another blow with a pipe. “They picked on me because I was some poor white boy from Ohio. So I wrote to my dear old crazy granny and she opened up the Pandora’s box.”

“And did that work? Let’s face it: you died and now you destroyed another life trying to come back.”

“Doesn’t matter. It was all in the blood.”

“Sure, but you are still the same. You are a small po’ white country boy,” Angela replied stressing a twang to be insulting.

Parsons lost his temper and sent a crate flying. He watched as she leapt to the side to avoid it but it was not enough to stop the piping that caught her in a hard clout on her side. Together he sent them both flying where they crashed into some crates. Thoroughly enraged, Parsons turned towards the others and said, “You will all pay for what you have done. I am not weak!”

The ground started rumbling and Dean paused to look at the angry cadet. It was then that he realized that Sam was missing. He called out, “Sam? Sammy?”

More ghosts appeared and knocked him and Col Henderson over. The next then knew the ghosts were swarming over him and he tried to fight them off with his iron pipe. One of them reached into his chest and he yelped out in pain when all of a sudden the ghosts disappeared like they would if the remains were being burnt. Dean looked over and saw the girl JoAnne holding a black book

JoAnne glared defiantly as she finished the last of the rite. When the ghosts disappeared, she knew what she had to do to seal the deal. She pulled out a lighter and held it out and lit it. She looked at Parsons who realized her intentions. As he raced forward to stop her, she lit the book on fire and tossed it into the middle of the sigil.

Parsons looked at it and then started towards JoAnne. He was stopped when he was jumped upon by Angela who had taken the opportunity to take a running start. She held onto the cadet’s neck in a chokehold and began muttering something in a language JoAnne could barely make out. She hung on until Parsons got a good grip on her but forearm and flung her forward so that she landed on her back in front of him completely winded. He looked at her and said, “Not good enough,” and raised his foot.

Angela had brought her forearms up when she saw something stick out of Parsons’ chest. She recognized the silver tip and frowned. Seeing Parsons ready to fall, she rolled over and watched him land. She saw the hilt of Absolution sticking through the back and she looked up at the one who stabbed him. She gave a sigh of relief and a chuckle and said, “It’s a good thing I called you guys to help on this case. Nice shot Sam.”


	14. Chapter 14

“How’s the head, Sammy?”

“It’s Sam.”

JoAnne laughed at Sam as he and Dean were getting patched up and being given a look over by the doctor, a personal friend of her Uncle Ted’s. To her they looked sullen as children trying hard not to let the doc’s poking and prodding irritate them into pumping him full of rock salt. She replied, “Just kidding. Seriously though, I came to check up on you two and Dave. Also I wanted to thank you.”

Dean held the ice pack to his head and gave a glare to the nurse stitching a cut on his head. He replied, “Just doing the job. You didn’t do too bad yourself Jo.”

“JoAnne to you Dean,” JoAnne replied with a mock sternness. She waited until the doc left with the nurse and they had some semblance of privacy. She then said, “The colonel said he’ll get it squared away.”

“That’ll be a first,” Dean replied dabbing the ice on his head, “At least no one will be looking for us.”

“Baltimore, Dean,” Sam reminded his brother quietly. He glanced down at the gauze wrapped around his wrists and frowned slightly. He still had a headache but according to the doc it was a minor concussion and that he would be fine. Just take a couple of days and relax… as if this job would let them do that if they were lucky.

“Right,” Dean pointed, “I felt the need for some pea soup then.” He then turned to JoAnne and asked, “You think there’s any chance of getting some pie?”

Sam rolled his eyes and jumped off the examination table he had been sitting on. He wanted to get out of that place but he wasn’t going to leave his brother alone. “Dean.”

“What? Sam, pie is the lifeline in this job,” Dean replied as he slid off the table. He would have said more but the doctor came back with two bottles of pills.

The doctor handed one bottle to each of the Winchesters. “This is the really good stuff so I don’t recommend either of you drive if you take one. Normally I don’t prescribe these without a good reason but the Colonel is a friend and he vouches for you two and your friend. Follow the directions and you should be fine.”

“Thanks doc,” Dean replied taking both bottles and pocketing them in his jacket.

“Where’s Angela?” Sam asked quietly.

JoAnne heard the question and tapped Sam’s shoulder. She said, “Try outside. I think she bolted the moment they cleared her.”

Sam nodded and took off. Dean turned to catch his brother rounding a corner and gave a humorous shake of his head. He then smelt the clinical smell of the hospital and started to make his way out of the place. He was trailed by JoAnne who was laughing at the thought of two tough guys who couldn’t stand being in a hospital.

****

“So you were actually around when Little Mac McClellan and Stonewall Jackson graduated from here?”

“I actually danced with them,” Angela replied with a grin as she watched the horizon. She looked at Barcalow who was enraptured with her tales. After Barcalow had been cleared, he bolted and he found her. They got to talking and she told him about her memories of the Point. She gave a playful bump with her shoulder. “So I hear that you’re going to be cleared. You’ll be back in classes in no time.”

“Yeah and I’ll have the equivalent of two weeks work to catch up on,” Barcalow laughed.

“From what a certain cadet tells me, you should have no problem with that,” Angela replied. She would have said more but it was stalled by Sam arriving.

Barcalow noticed the tall guy appear and sensed that he should leave. He said, “Well I guess that means Jo is ready. I better go find her. Thanks for the story.” He held out his hand.

“No problem Cadet. Honor the code,” Angela replied shaking it.

Barcalow gave a smile and turned to go into the building to find JoAnne, allowing room for Sam to head down. Sam took the invitation and let Barcalow pass. He advanced tentatively towards Angela and leaned against the wall she was leaning against. She spoke first, “I’m not going to ask about the head since you are here. I’m guessing Dean has your pain pills?”

Sam gave a slight smile, “Yeah.” He then went silent, not sure if to ask about her experience being buried. He then frowned slightly before asking, “What about you? Are you okay?”

Angela looked at her hands. They had been scraped but they were healing. The only thing that drew concern was the compression on her lungs and the bruised ribs. That would heal within a few days. Her clothes were another story. She turned over her hands and saw the scar on her palm and replied, “Nothing that won’t heal.” She looked up at Sam and saw that he wasn’t entirely convinced. She added, “I’ve been in… similar situations before Sam. I was once locked in a crypt and I was losing air. It was one of many near death experiences I’ve had since starting this line of work.”

Sam frowned and shook his head. He could tell she was hiding something though he didn’t know how he knew that. Probably from his experiences dealing with it from Dean. “Angela, I’m not going to push but I just want you to know that I think there is something you don’t want to tell me and that’s fine. I mean we hardly know each other so I don’t expect you to spill your life secrets…”

“I understand, Sam. Thank you,” Angela replied looking up at him and gave a smile. “As I said before, working with people is good for me. And I’ll hold you and Dean to the same deal. I don’t expect us to be bosom buddies either but trust is important.”

Sam returned the look and crossed his arms across his chest, forgetting that they were bandaged. He also forgot that his upper arm had been bandaged from Parsons’ ‘skinning.’ He winced and lowered his arms. “Forgot about that.”

Angela gave a chuckle, “You would.”

She would have said more but Dean arrived at that moment saying, “Hey Sammy. You forgot these.” He then tossed a bottle of pills at Sam as he walked down the stairs. “Hey Angie, you got yours?”

“Don’t need any. I’m not the one who got his head bashed in by a possessed cadet,” Angela replied with a laugh, “Besides we can’t leave until Col Henderson officially clears us.”

“Great more fun with the dick colonel,” Dean replied getting worked up. Unfortunately it agitated the sore spots on his head and he put a hand up. “Sonofabitch.”

Angela shook her head in amusement and plucked the bottle of pills out of Dean’s hand and opened it. She held out the pill towards Dean while nicking the keys to the Impala. “Take one Dean. I’m driving.” She held the keys away from Dean until he took the pill and then she started walking towards the car.

Dean watched as she jingled the keys to tease Dean and opened the driver’s side of the waiting Impala. She got in and started the car and just sat there. He glanced over at Sam and said, “Sammy, I don’t know whether to hate her or like her.”

“She knows cars. That’s a plus for you,” Sam replied with a shrug as he walked down the steps, pocketing his pain pills. “I call shot gun.”

“No way Sammy!”

“Too late.”

****

JoAnne walked through the lobby of the Thayer hotel carrying a manila envelope and a sealed white envelope.  She was also carrying a package that she wanted to make sure they got. Barcalow had wanted to come but he needed to study if he was going to catch up. Besides she wanted to talk to Angela before she left about other things. She wanted her opinion and she knew that she would get an honest one from her.

Uncle Ted was going to deliver the letter but JoAnne volunteered. She got the feeling that yesterday’s final closing of the case, Dean wasn’t anxious to talk to him some more. _At least Uncle Ted mellowed out some._ JoAnne smiled as she walked up to the desk to make sure that they hadn’t checked out yet. She had seen that the Impala was still there but she had to be sure. She missed them once and she’d be damned if she missed them again.

Finding out that they hadn’t checked out yet, JoAnne thanked the front desk and walked towards the stairs. She approached the door the Winchester’s room and paused. She could hear voices and what she heard made her want to laugh.

_I can’t believe you two lasted this long doing this to your clothes. They look like you tossed them on your bed and slept with them._

_What do expect? We move around a lot. You know saving people, hunting things…_

_It’s no excuse._

_Hey! Those are things you are not supposed to see!_

_Please. I’m not a Virginia belle._

_Sam, tell her to stop._

_Leave me out of it. You know my position on clothes._

_Right… Samantha._

_Jerk._

_Bitch._

JoAnne couldn’t stand it anymore and gave a knock on the door. She stifled a laugh as Sam opened the door and peered around it to see who was there. When he saw her and said, “Oh. Hi, JoAnne.”

“Having fun?” JoAnne couldn’t resist.

Sam couldn’t answer trying hard not to think about the possible implication that could mean. He did have the sense to realize that she may have heard the whole ‘war’ that was raging in the room. He frowned slightly as if confused and asked, “What are you doing here?”

JoAnne watched Sam’s expression and tried to resist the chuckle but couldn’t. When she paused she explained, “Col Henderson wanted to give something to you and your brother but given the way things went yesterday… Can I come in? I feel like a damn delivery boy standing out here.”

“Oh right. Come on in.”

JoAnne walked in to see Angela just sitting in one of the chairs watching Dean scowl at her while he was stuffing what was left of his things into his duffle. Next to her feet was another duffle. She said, “Hey, I was hoping to catch you.”

“Well you caught us,” Dean replied with his signature sarcasm.

“At least it isn’t with your pants down,” JoAnne retorted before saying, “Col Henderson wanted to give you this.” She tossed the white envelope to Sam seeing that Dean was busy. “He wanted to thank you and that is an extension of his gratitude.”

Dean finished stuffing the last thing into his duffle and zipped it up. He said, “Well at least you’re the one giving it.”

JoAnne gave a wry grin and replied, “At least he admits to being a douche. By the way I know you were asking for some the other day so I went over to the mess hall and charmed them into giving me these.” She thrust the box at Dean.

Dean took the box and flipped open the lid. He asked, “Are these?”

“Yeah pies. What kind, well you’re gonna have fun with that.”

Dean raised his brow. This was the second time that he had gotten pie after a job was done. He glanced over at Angela who was reading a book and ignoring the conversation going on. He wondered if to call her a jinx or a good luck charm or something. “Thanks Jo.”

“JoAnne to you and don’t you tell me to lighten up. You have to earn the right to call me that,” JoAnne replied pointing a finger for emphasis.

Dean rolled his eyes at that. “Fine. Come on Sam, we gotta load up.” He grabbed his duffle and headed towards the door.

Sam had been watching the whole thing and wisely said nothing. Nothing really happened except that Angela came to give them a hand. She had packed the weapons and stuff with swift precision. The whole thing was an opportunity she took to tease Dean. He followed his brother out as he picked up his own bags and headed out. He paused and asked, “You coming Angela?”

“Yeah I’ll be right there.”

“Alright.”

JoAnne waited until Sam was gone before holding out the manila envelope to Angela. She said, “I know you said to leave it alone but last night I did some checking. I know you said that Parsons was inhabited by the spirit of Bodine. Well I checked and did some cross checking and as it turns out, Bodine had a sister. She married someone named Caleb Parsons and well, the short story is that Tom Parsons was related to Bodine.”

Angela opened the envelope and read what JoAnne had dug up. She had suspected the cadet that started all this mess was related. “So it really was in blood. Dammit.”

“Is it something bad?”

“It could be under specific circumstances. Thanks for the info JoAnne.” Angela gave a smile as she tucked the envelope into her duffle.

“You can call me Jo,” JoAnne grinned. “There was another reason I came. I wanted to talk to you.”

“Well talk and walk,” Angela replied as she picked up her duffle.

“Well after everything, I was thinking of doing this kind of thing.”

“Don’t you want a military career?”

“Well, I was thinking of keeping an eye on the base wherever I am assigned after graduation. Just looking for an honest opinion,” JoAnne replied looking at the woman next to her.

“Why would you want this?”

“I don’t think I could ignore it after this. I know I’m green at this but I can learn. I know people who can teach me.”

Angela paused in the foyer of the lobby. She looked at the girl and saw the earnest look in her eyes. Suddenly she had to know. She put her hand on the girl’s shoulder.

****

Sam was trying to find the best way to bring it up. He loaded his bag into the trunk and said, “So Dean, I was thinking that maybe we could… ask Angela to ride with us.”

“You’re kidding me right Sam?” Dean shut the trunk of the Impala and looked at his brother. He saw that Sam was serious and added, “You’re actually serious aren’t you?” Dean rolled his eyes and made to lean against the car, “I swear Sam you are treating this like picking up a stray dog or something.”

“How could it hurt Dean? Think of it as having backup.”

“Sam, we’ve worked two cases with her. That doesn’t mean anything.”

Sam knew it was low for him to use what he was going to say next and he felt dirty. He wanted to keep her around more or less because of the dreams he had been having of her being alone and dying alone. He swallowed and said, “Dean, she knows about the yellow eyed demon.”

“What?”

“She’s been more or less tracking him and she knows about the other psychics. She can help with that.”

Dean had to admit that it was an interesting idea. They still had no idea what the yellow eyed demon wanted with Sam and if Angela had been tracking him, then maybe… but then again it could be a trap. She wasn’t fully human after all. She could be biding her time and deliver Sam on a platter. “Sam…”

“Look, we’re never going to find out more if we don’t work with her.”

“Sam, have you considered the possibility that she is yanking your chain?”

Sam gave a slight cock of his head like an inquisitive puppy. “It crossed my mind once or twice, but Dean, what about the dreams I’ve had?”

“I thought you said that those stopped after the last job?” Dean frowned at his brother. He got the feeling that Sam had been keeping secrets again.

Sam recognized the expression on Dean’s face and knew that he was going to get the ‘don’t keep secrets’ lecture. He returned Dean’s look with an annoyed one of his own. He then gave a slight shrug as if it weren’t a big deal. “They did and before we took the job, they came back.”

“And you didn’t think to mention this before?”

Sam shrugged his shoulders, “Dean, I can’t control when they come and go. I just get the feeling that maybe she’s supposed to come with us.”

“I don’t know Sam.”

“Think of it as backup then and you never know when having the ability to move things will come in handy.” Sam then resorted to the last weapon that he had. He turned on the puppy dog look. If anything that would convince Dean. “Come on Dean.”

Dean turned to look at his brother and saw the puppy dog look full on. Inwardly he groaned. No matter how many times he tried, he could never resist the puppy dog look. Sam used it every time he wanted something really bad. The milder version was often used and accompanied by the bitch face but the full blown one… Dean groaned, “Aw Sam… Alright she can tag along.”

Sam dropped the puppy dog eyes and grinned. He nearly laughed when his brother scowled at him and punched him in the arm. Unfortunately it was the one that had been cut and Sam knew that Dean did it on purpose. So he grinned and bore it as Dean said, “You ask her then.”

“I think it should come from you since you’re the one that was reluctant to work with her,” Sam replied.

Dean gave his ‘I am the big brother look’ and said, “You do it Sam. You wanted her along so you ask.”

“It would mean more coming from you than me.”

“I hereby invoke my big brother rights.” Dean gave smug look as if to dare Sam to challenge him.

“Dude, no way.”

Dean continued to give the look as he said, “Alright, we’ll settle this as usual.” He held up his fist in his hand.

“Come on, Dean,” Sam frowned as he said it. When Dean still held his fist in his hand, Sam sighed. “Fine,” and he held up his own fist. “Best two out of three.”

“You’re going down Sammy.”

They were doing it a second time when Angela came out with JoAnne. She watched the scene with amusement as Sam gloated, “You always pick scissors Dean.”

“Eh, bite me bitch.”

“Back at ya jerk.”

Angela continued to smile as she turned to wish JoAnne good-bye. She said to the girl, “Thanks for your help Jo and tell your mom I’ll call her.”

JoAnne beamed and said, “No problem. She’ll like that.” She then looked at Sam and Dean and said, “Thanks again and good luck wherever you’re heading.” She then took off back towards the Thayer gate. She had to get back to the colonel and report in.

Dean waited until the girl left before asking, “How come she let you call her Jo?”

“She gave me permission.”

Dean would have said something but Sam interrupted and asked, “So where are you heading?”

Angela shouldered her duffle. “I’m heading over to hop on the next train out. After that, who knows?”

Dean replied, “That sounds interesting.” He was bumped by Sam and given the bitch face. Dean scowled in return before saying, “Um Angie. You don’t have to go…”

“I think I do. I don’t want to be here at the Point any longer than necessary,” Angela replied.

Dean glanced at his brother and then asked, “Youwanttocomewithus?”

“What?”

“You want to come with us?” Dean repeated, enunciating his words. “It’d be nice to have back up once in a while and I don’t know about you but you seem to be a good luck charm so far. This is twice that I’ve gotten free pie. Well maybe you can help us with the yellow eyed demon and maybe you can drive since Samantha and I are on pain pills.”

Angela glanced at Sam and saw a guilty look. She got the idea that he used that to get Dean on board with her being around. His own reasons, well he could explain when he was ready. She replied, “I’ve never been called a good luck charm with regards to pie but alright.”

Dean opened the trunk of the Impala and she slung her duffle in. Upon shutting the trunk, she took the keys and walked to the driver’s side, still looking at the boys wondering if something was up. When she touched the door of the Impala, she got that sensation again but what she saw, it sealed it for her. She got in just as Sam got in beside her and Dean got in the back. She started the engine and put the car in gear, driving out of the village and onto the highway.

They weren’t even five miles away before Dean asked, “So Angie, you ever going to show us that tattoo again?”

Angela glanced in the rearview mirror and smirked. She reached over and turned on the radio. She selected a compromise between Dean’s taste and Sam’s taste in music. She laughed as Dean grimaced and said, “Hey I thought you liked…”

“Driver selects music and passengers shut their pie holes,” Angela replied as she glanced back with a smile on her face.

Sam couldn’t help but laugh. He could tell that things were definitely going to be interesting with her around. Dean was in a similar frame of mind though he could let her know that just now. Maybe a few more cases and it would be decided. He looked over at his brother laughing and said, “Shut up bitch.”

“Make me, jerk.”

Angela said nothing as she drove down the highway. It was unexpected for her to be asked to accompany them and she wouldn’t have brought herself down to asking. She would give it a chance and maybe things would be all right. She heard the argument escalate and turned up the music to deafening proportions and started belting out lyrics smiling heading towards their next destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap on Phantom of the Point. Any and all reviews are welcome. Stay tuned for episode 3 The Order of Melchizedek.


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